BlueBioClimate - Climate-adapted tools for a sustainable blue bioeconomy in the Kattegat-Skagerrak

About the project

The biodiversity in aquatic environments (blue biodiversity, diversity on ecosystem, species, population, gene and functional levels) in the Kattegat-Skagerrak-region is under severe threat from combinations of climate change and factors such as pollution, nutrient load and fishing. We therefore urgently need an improved understanding of the role of biodiversity for ecosystem climate change resilience, and to develop the tools that can secure sustainable solutions to the biodiversity crisis under climate change.

In the Kattegat-Skagerrak-region, there are two main challenges for achieving climate adapted biodiversity protection. We need new tools for our work with biodiversity protection and exploitation because the existing methods rarely focus on ecosystem response and resilience to climate change. In addition, there is an urgent need for increased collaboration, knowledge sharing and coordination across national borders, as the challenges are shared across borders, while management and implementation often takes place in isolation at national or even local levels.

In BlueBioClimate, we will create the foundation for a novel climate-adapted nature management of blue biodiversity by developing new tools that can be applied to adapt our biodiversity protection to climate change. We work in close cooperation with national and regional nature management authorities. We focus mainly on three areas of relevance to green transition: 1: Prioritization and spatial planning, 2: Restoration, land and coastal protection, and 3: Invasive, alien and new species. Along with the new tools, we will also develop a strategy for anchoring cooperation between management authorities on climate-adapted biodiversity protection across borders to secure its implementation in future nature monitoring and management.

The project is a collaboration between DTU Aqua (Denmark), University of Aarhus Denmark), University of Gothenburg (Sweden) and The Institute of Marine Research / University of Agder (Norway).

BlueBioClimate is funded by InterReg Kattegat-Skagerrak:

Interreg is a key European Union (EU) instruments that strengthens cooperation between regions and countries within the EU. As part of the EU’s Cohesion Policy, Interreg plays a vital role in promoting regional development, cohesion, and reducing economic disparities. For the 2021-2027 period, Interreg is focused on addressing current challenges like climate change, digital transformation, and social inclusion.

Examples of activities within the project

Work package 3 of the project aims at developing new Decision Support Frameworks in close collaboration with the reference group and therefore integrate the latest knowledge in the field with the reference group's practical nature management experience to ensure subsequent implementation. We focus on three areas of particular relevance to the region's climate adaptation and green transition: 1. Prioritization and spatial planning, 2. Restoration, land and coastal protection and 3. Invasive, alien and emerging species.

Prioritization and spatial planning

Here we will bring together information related to mapping biodiversity, connectivity and resilience to climate change in a number of species, e.g. cod, mackerel, trout, tuna, flat oysters, blue mussels, edible crab, lobster, algae (from plankton to seaweed) and eelgrass, fish diversity in general and a number of species that are currently not commercially important (e.g. sharks, rays, lumpfish, garfish) from work package 2 (data generation and analysis). By synthesizing information across species, we will get a better, integrated picture of the effects of ecosystem condition and climatic effects in the region.

Restoration, land and coastal protection

A number of initiatives on a local to regional scale seek to strengthen and re-establish natural ecosystems by ex. habitat restoration and stocking of fish (e.g. trout, flatfish), shellfish (e.g. European flat oyster, lobster), plants (e.g. eelgrass) and algae (e.g. seaweed) that are native to the region but are in decline due to combinations of pressures, including climate change. It is therefore important to understand the interplay between climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, such as fishing, aquaculture or stock restoration, which can also affect natural populations of fish, shellfish and plants. The latest technology can support restoration and re-establishment initiatives by providing information on the productivity potential of habitats, genetic diversity and relatedness of populations, adaptations, dispersal and migration within and between areas. In the context of the dramatic effects of climate change on our coasts, there is also an increased focus on creating physical coastal and land protection, such as the laying of stone reefs and the construction of dikes and locks. While stone reefs are generally assumed to also have positive effects on biodiversity, as they provide protection and habitats for a number of species, the construction of dikes and locks can have negative effects by, for example, affecting fish migrations between fresh and salt water. Therefore, we want to use the latest technology to create the best possible solutions that can also take biodiversity conservation into account.

Invasive, alien and emerging species

Invasive species (e.g. Pacific oysters, zebra and quagga mussels, algae, brown trout, blackmouth gudgeon) are usually considered harmful as they can have a number of negative impacts on natural ecosystems and can be difficult to control once established. However, invasive species can also in some cases bring new opportunities for resource utilization, and we want to analyze these especially in relation to expected developments under climate change. We are now also experiencing changing conditions in our aquatic ecosystems in the form of new species that are either re-entering the region (e.g. tuna) and have an increased focus on exploitation (e.g. cockles). exploitation (e.g. cockles, sea bass, mullet and other fish species). We will create a better understanding of the interaction between these species and climate in order to improve the protection of native biodiversity and the management and exploitation of the species in the future.

Reference group knowledge transfer

We will ensure an effective two-way knowledge transfer with our primary target group through a fixed meeting structure with the project reference group. The project reference group has participation from authorities at national and regional level. The primary purpose of the reference group is to involve professionals from nature and biodiversity management authorities actively and closely in the development of the new tools to support practical biodiversity protection and nature management as well as a strategy for their subsequent implementation. The role of the reference group role will therefore be to contribute knowledge about the practical implementation of new tools in the work of the authorities', which will strengthen the new tools developed in the project significantly. Co-creation will thus increase the subsequent impact of the developed tools. In addition, we will via the reference group and the project to create the foundation for a permanent structure for cross-authority collaboration across borders on the management of natural ecosystems under climate change.

Members

University of Gothenburg

Pierre De Wit
Carl André
Johan Höjesjö
Marlene Jahnke
Per Moksnes
Chloé Robert
Stefanie Ries
Simon Henriksson
Olga Ortega-Martinez
Erica Leder
Magnus Wallerius

DTU Aqua

Jakob Hemmer-Hansen
Kim Birnie-Gauvin  
Dorte Bekkevold

Aarhus University

Peter Grønkjaer
Anna Neuheimer
Antti Miettinen
Michael M. Hansen

IMR

Halvor Knutsen
Per Erik Jorde

University of Agder

Ane Timenes Laugen
Tove Margerthe Gabrielsen
Marte Sodeland
Johanna Bjånes Marcussen
Andrea Noche Ferreira