On the 4th of April, 2024, many project members met on Zoom to catch up and share our activities since the last meeting. These are updates from each of the case studies.
Canada
- Andrea is developing a draft workshop plan for the Canadian case study.
- She aims to integrate ecological principles into the existing NFF tools, and is compiling a database of emerging tools, including “stone stories”, to share with interested parties in other case studies.
West Africa
- Partner institutions have recruited students from at least 2 to 3 institutions, including a Ms. student at UNILAG, and are reviewing a PhD student.
- Projects for the West Africa case study were launched last Thursday and live streamed via the Solving FCB YouTube page.
- Subscriptions to the YouTube page have increased, with positive feedback received.
- Registrations for the project launch included countries and governmental organizations from both the West African region and internationally.
- Following the inception meeting on April 4th, Nigeria will hold its first stakeholders participatory workshop, by invitation only.
- About 37 registrations from government agencies and the private sector have been received for the workshop, targeting middle to top career professionals.
- The workshop aims to address challenges in IUU fishing and plastic pollution nexus.
- Dora will facilitate a full-day workshop, with Laura arriving the following night.
- The aim is to stimulate interest and partnerships across stakeholder groups in Nigeria.
- Participants are expected from Lagos and other areas.
- Deliverables for year two include discussions on TII and starting field activities towards the year’s end.
- Appreciation is expressed for the leadership of Solving FCB, particularly William and Rashid.
- William mentions that the inception meeting was well-organized and the video of the inception reports will be posted on the website.
- Temi notes that there were 96 applications for one PhD studentship from diverse applicants worldwide.
- Capacity building is highlighted as a main focus of the partnership, aiming to share opportunities with interested individuals globally.
China
- China case study update: Daniel (Yue Liu) focusing on providing scientific evidence of seaweed harvesting impact on local biodiversity using environmental DNA approaches.
- Three survey sites: Xia’pu County, Lian’jiang County, and Liu’ao County.
- Analysis of data completed recently.
- No significant alpha diversity change among different farming areas detected.
- Some unique MOTUs found, with higher ratio in algae aquaculture areas.
- Community structure analyzed using Amds and ANOVA method.
- Survey area and farming season significantly impact local fish community structure.
- Log photo change used to detect dominant species in seaweed farming areas.
- Network analysis based on biological correlation conducted, showing stronger connections in seaweed farming areas.
- Module hubs identified in seaweed farming areas but not in other areas.
- pH value and turbidity identified as dominant environmental factors affecting seaweed farm biodiversity in farming seasons.
- Temperature identified as main factor driving biodiversity change in non-farming seasons.
- William finds the diversity of case studies and methods used interesting.
- Different case studies employ various methods, including natural and social science approaches.
- Suggests potential collaboration to explore a mix of methods to address overarching questions.
- Daniel agrees on the potential connections between natural and social science aspects.
Netherlands
- NFF activities have been elaborated upon, with a global initiative initiated by the same team as in 2019 for Global Assessment.
- The global initiative aims to find new scenarios with the same modeling community, focusing initially on land and then ocean.
- William inquires about the readiness of the data site to be shared with others on NFF for refreshing their knowledge.
- Garry is working on updating and proofreading the site, and will subsequently send an email and password for access.
- There are plans to link various resources for better usability in the future, including the creation of a more user-friendly examples page.
Costa Rica
- Astrid and Senakpon are collaborating on workshops using the same methodology.
- Three presentations have been made regarding research results from Solving FCB.
- The Gulf region faces data deficiency regarding climate projections and satellite information.
- They aim to understand the impact of climate change on ocean fishery resources and biodiversity.
- There is a need to establish a working group to link climate change impacts with social impacts.
- The Methods team has experience in environmental data but less in marine data.
- Costa Rica and South African teams, with Senakpon, Andrea, and Laura, coordinate the project’s futures methods section.
- Fieldwork has commenced with methods coordinated between the two case studies.
- A meeting with Ayodele focused on understanding gender approach differences and complementarities.
- Facilitation of meetings and workshops between teams is considered beneficial.
- William acknowledges the value of discussions and hopes for further engagement.
Additional Costa Rica projects:
- A master’s student is working on a model for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) growth in the Gulf of Nicoya.
- Tayler Clarke is analyzing remotely sensed temperature and productivity data to detect trends and changes in the Gulf since the 1980s.
- Astrid Sánchez has drafted a research paper, contributing to the project’s progress, with a focus on sociology topics.
