The MEFEPO (Making the European Fisheries Ecosystem Plan Operational) project 2nd Edition was made up of a group of ecologists, economists, management experts and fisheries scientists who are trying to make ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) a reality in Europe. EBFM seeks to support the three pillars of sustainability’ (ecological, social and economic).The North Western Waters (NWW) area is situated in the north east Atlantic off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, and extends into the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and the English Channel. The NWW covers approximately 1.15 million km2 and comprises 12 ICES Divisions and three OSPAR regions. Parts of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of three countries (UK, Ireland and France) make up NWW. The majority of the NWW area is composed of water less than 100m deep (20%), while 17% lies between 100m and 200m (17%) and 20% between 1,000m and 1,500m. The MEFEPO Atlas project commenced in 2009 and was completed in 2011. The North Western Waters Atlas collected and produced data maps and text on area and depth, climate, water movements, sea temperature, sea floor habitat, contaminants and nutrients, plankton, nutrients, marine reptiles, seabirds, marine mammals, protected areas and fishing restrictions, elasmobranches, fishing activities and mariculture. The MEFEPO Atlas produced to support ecosystem approach in fisheries science. The MEFEPO Atlas produced by University of Liverpool (UK), Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (Portugal), Wageningen IMARES (Netherlands), Université de Bretange Occidentale (France), Marine Institute (Ireland), University of Tromsø (Norway), CEFAS (UK), Institute for Fisheries Management (Denmark), Universidad dos Acores (Portugal) and Instituto Espanol de Oceanografía (Spain). Atlas maps completed for edition published.

The MEFEPO (Making the European Fisheries Ecosystem Plan Operational) project was made up of a group of ecologists, economists, management experts and fisheries scientists who are trying to make ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) a reality in Europe. EBFM seeks to support the; three pillars of sustainability’ (ecological, social and economic).The North Western Waters (NWW) area is situated in the north east Atlantic off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, and extends into the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and the English Channel. The NWW covers approximately 1.15 million km2 and comprises 12 ICES Divisions and three OSPAR regions. Parts of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of three countries (UK, Ireland and France) make up the NWW. The majority of the NWW area is composed of water less than 100m deep (20%), while 17% lies between 100m and 200m (17%) and 20% between 1,000m and 1,500m. The MEFEPO Atlas project commenced in 2009 and was completed in 2011. The North Western Waters Atlas collected and produced data maps and text on area and depth, climate, water movements, sea temperature, sea floor habitat, contaminants and nutrients, plankton, nutrients, marine reptiles, seabirds, marine mammals, protected areas and fishing restrictions, elasmobranches, fishing activities and mariculture. The MEFEPO Atlas was produced to support ecosystem approach in fisheries science. The MEFEPO Atlas produced by University of Liverpool (UK), Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (Portugal), Wageningen IMARES (Netherlands), Université de Bretange Occidentale (France), Marine Institute (Ireland), University of Tromsø (Norway), CEFAS (UK), Institute for Fisheries Management (Denmark), Universidad dos Acores (Portugal) and Instituto Espanol de Oceanografía (Spain). Atlas maps complete for edition published.

The purpose of the atlas is to communicate the key results from the Irish Groundfish Survey programme which is carried out annually in the waters around Ireland, and the Deepwater Survey programme conducted 2006-2009. Data is presented in a concise, visual and non technical format and provides an overview of the distribution and abundance of adult and juvenile fish species in Irish waters. Atlas is aimed at those involved in fisheries, environmental policy and management, the fishing industry, environmental Non Government Organisations (NGOs), scientists and the general public. More technical details on the data and analysis is described within the Atlas. Quality information is available in the full metadata lineage.

The Stock Book is the annual review of Fish Stocks in any given year, the latest being 2016, with management advice for the subsequent year. The Stock Book covers fisheries and fishing activities in the greater North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and Saint Georges Channel around Ireland. The Stock Book covers data collected between 2011 and 2016. Fisheries scientific advice data includes information collected from surveys and fisheries models. Its purpose has been to provide the latest impartial scientific advice on the commercially exploited fish stocks of interest to Ireland. The Stock Book 2016 was the principal annual publication of the Marine Institutes (Ireland) Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) section. The Stock Book was used by the Department of Agriculture, Marine and Food - (DAFM) at the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) negotiations with the EU in December 2016 and throughout the year at fisheries management meetings. Stock Book complete for year of publication in question.

Demersal discards atlas provides information on discarding patterns by species and area by the various Irish demersal fleets. A number of potential technical measures to reduce discards are shown as well as two case studies showing the potential impact technical measures have on landings and discards. This Atlas represents a first attempt at auditing Irish fisheries and proposes some options to mitigate discards. It should be emphasised that discarding occurs in all international fleets operating in the waters around Ireland and that mitigation measures must be applied to all these fleets if we are to implement a successful discard reduction policy. Demersal discards in marine waters around Ireland include North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea and Irish Sea. The data has been collected between 1995 and 2009. The demersal catch sampling programme conducted by the Marine Institute (MI) was carried out using a combination of port based and at sea sampling methods. Previous programmes have been carried out since the early 1960’s, but the focus was on port sampling only (i.e. landings). The combined port and sea based sampling programme (catch) commenced in 1993 and has one of the longest time series of discard data in Europe. The purpose of this Atlas was to present the scientific observations on discarding by the Irish Demersal fleet. Data collection and interpretation undertaken jointly by the Marine Institute (MI) and Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM). Data is considered a complete discards review for the time period covered.