Working group on application of genetics in fisheries and aquaculture (wgagfa)

Science-based management of marine fisheries and effective ecosystem monitoring both require the collection of large amounts of often difficult to collect information on which decisions 68 | ICES SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 2:73 | ICES can be based and management policies developed. Legislation also increasingly requires the attainment of good environmental status, which again demands collection of data to enable efficient monitoring and management of biodiversity. Traditionally such information is obtained as a result of research surveys through the capture and/or visual identification of organisms in water or sediment samples. Recent years have seen significant advances in the utilization of environmental DNA (eDNA) in the marine environment to try to address the information needs in a cost-effective manner. Such approaches attempt to identify and/or quantify the species present at a location through the use of extra-organismal DNA shed into the environment. These new eDNA based approaches have the potential to revolutionise data collection in the marine environment. However, the rapid developments in the field provide an oftentimes bewildering suit of novel tools which have the potential to be utilized to examine issues of relevance to managers, monitors and policy-makers and it is difficult for a non-specialist to be able to make informed decisions as to the utility of such approaches to answer questions of interest. In order to bridge this information gap, here we present a non-technical summary of different approaches in the field of eDNA analysis, with value for the governance and management of marine aquatic ecosystems. The paper focuses on disentangling those tools, which are readily applicable, and those, which show promise but are currently in development. ICES | WGAGFA 2020 | 69 4 Additional results during the reporting period 4.1 Additional Output WGAGFA Leaflet: During the reporting period, a leaflet has been developed by the WGAGFA, depicting the scope and expertise and activities under the ICES remit. This leaflet is downloadable from the ICES web page and part of the WGAGFA dissemination strategy. ICES Training Report “Genomics in support of fisheries and aquaculture management”: In September 2019 the WGAGFA provided the first ICES training course on genomic approaches and their integration into fisheries and aquaculture management. This successful ICES training activity was documented in a report that has been submitted to ICES. ToRa publication: The Terms of Reference group dealing with farmed and wild salmon interactions under the lead of Ian Bradbury (DFO Canada) is currently preparing a manuscript that is to be submitted as a peer reviewed article. ToRd publication: The Term of Reference group dealing with environmental DNA under the lead of John Gilbey (Marine Science Scotland) has prepared a manuscript that has been submitted to Marine Policy. ToRd eDNA topic sheet: The Term of Reference group dealing with environmental DNA under the lead of John Gilbey (Marine Science Scotland) has submitted a draft for a topic sheet on the use of eDNA for ocean governance to be published under the ICES remit. WKGENOTOOLS report: an account, documenting the objectives scope, results and remit of the “Stakeholder Workshop on the Value of Genetic and Genomic Tools for identifying species in mixed landings, fish products and by-products”, has been prepared and been submitted to ICES. ICES ASC Theme Session 2018 publication: a manuscript for a peer-reviewed publication emerging from the Theme Session that the chairs of WGSEDA, WGPDMO, and WGAGFA organized, has been prepared. 4.2 Outreach Activities ICES Training Genomics in Support of Fisheries and Aquaculture Management: In September 2019 the WGAGFA provided a 3-Day training course on genomic approaches and their integration into fisheries and aquaculture management. This successful ICES training activity that received exceptionally positive feedback from the participants, is thoroughly documented in a report that has been submitted to ICES. WKGENOTOOLS: In February 2020, in support of ToRc, the WGAGFA, with financial support from the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC) and resources from the JRC and the Norwegian Marine Research Institute (IMR), organized a two-day stakeholder workshop in Brussels on ToRc. The workshop resulted in a valuable exchange between WGAGFA scientists and stakeholders from the European Commission Directorate General MARE, the European Parliament, as well as the industry. Policy and legislative needs, with a focus on the EU landing obligations were identified, followed by an assessment of the value of state-of-the-art genetics and genomics for the implementation of relevant legislation. Results and outcomes of this workshop are documented in a report that will be submitted to ICES together with the final WGAGFA report. 70 | ICES SCIENTIFIC REPORTS 2:73 | ICES ICES ASC Theme Session 2018: Under the remit of the Aquaculture Steering Group, the chairs of the ICES Working Groups on Social and Economic Dimensions of Aquaculture (WGSEDA), Pathology and Diseases of Marine Organisms (WGPDMO), and on the Application of Genetics in Fisheries and Aquaculture (WGAGFA) co-organized the Theme Session O Working toward an ecosystem approach to North Atlantic marine aquaculture. A report documenting the output of this successful session has been submitted to ICES and a manuscript for a peer-reviewed publication is being prepared. World Fisheries Congress 2020 (postponed to 2021): Members of the WGAGFA are involved in the organization of sessions during the next world fisheries Congress. FishGenome: Following a specific request by the European Commission Directorate General MARE (DG MARE), the WGAGFA embarked on the dialogue with the FishGenome project consortium. The project FishGenome, ”Improving Cost-Efficiency of Fisheries Research Surveys and Fish Stocks Assessments using Next-Generation Genetic Sequencing Methods” is based on the tender issued by DG MARE, and managed by the European Agency for Small and MediumSized Enterprises (EASME; https://ted.europa.eu/udl?uri=TED:NOTICE:2648652018:TEXT:EN:HTML). With Gary Carvalho, a WGAGFA member and former working group chair, is a member of the FishGenome scientific advisory group. The FishGenome consortium presented FishGenome, its objectives and scope, just before the WGAGFA annual meeting 2020. Moreover, a number of WGAGFA members participated upon invitation in the dedicated FishGenome stakeholder workshop in May 2020. Further common activities are under discussion, with the objective to maintain the established link between ICES and FishGenome, and as to ensure the best possible outcome in line with the policy-oriented objectives of the project. GECKA: A research project that emerged from WGAGFA 2015-18 ToRd. GECKA is led by AZTI, financed by the Joint Research Centre and a number of WGAGFA members contribute. GECKA assesses whether genetic close-kin mark recapture (CKMR) method can be employed for obtaining fisheries-independent abundance estimates for highly valuable and exploited deep-sea stocks. ICES | WGAGFA 2020 | 71 Annex 1: List of participants Name Institute Country (of institute) E-mail ALLAL, Francois Ifremer FR fallal@Ifremer.fr BARGELLONI, Luca University of Padova IT luca.bargelloni@unipd.it BOSSIER, Peter Ghent University BE peter.bossier@ugent.be BOUDRY, Pierre Ifremer FR pboudry@Ifremer.fr BRADBURY, Ian Fisheries and Oceans Canada CA ian.bradbury@dfo-mpo.gc.ca BRIEUC, Marine Institute of Marine Research Norway NO marine.brieuc@imr.no BURGETZ, Ingrid Fisheries and Oceans Canada CA ingrid.burgetz@dfo-mpo.gc.ca CALBOLI, Federico KU Leuven BE federico.calboli@kuleuven.be CARVALHO, Gary Bangor University, UK UK g.r.carvalho@bangor.ac.uk CASTILHO, Rita CCMAR PT rcastil@ualg.pt CHARRIER, Grégory LEMAR UBO FR gregory.charrier@univ-brest.fr COSCIA, Ilaria University of Salford UK I.Coscia@salford.ac.uk COULSON, Mark University of the Highlands and Islands UK Mark.Coulson.ic@uhi.ac.uk CROSS, Tom University College Cork IE t.cross@ucc.ie DAHLE, Geir Institute of Marine Research NO geir.dahle@imr.no DERYCKE, Sofie Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research (ILVO BE Sofie.Derycke@ilvo.vlaanderen.be ENSING, Dennis Agri-food and Biosciences Institute UK dennis.ensing@afbini.gov.uk FRANCISCO, Sara Isabel ISPA Instituto Universitário PT sara_francisco@ispa.pt GILBEY, John Marine Scotland Science UK gilbeyj@marlab.ac.uk GRUENTHAL, Kristen NOAA US kristen.gruenthal@noaa.gov HANDAL, William LEMAR UBO FR william.handal@univ-brest.fr HELYAR, Sarah Queen's University Belfast UK s.helyar@qub.ac.uk HEMMER-HANSEN, Jakob DTU Aqua, National Institute of Aquatic Resources DK jhh@aqua.dtu.dk HOLMES, Steven NIWA NZ Steven.Holmes@niwa.co.nz>