WIO-BENTH- Identification, characterization and vulnerability assessment of benthic ecosystems in the WIO

Oceanographic Research Institute (ORI-Lead institution, South Africa)

Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute (TAFIRI-Tanzania)

Centre d’Etudes et du Développement des Pêches (CEDP – Madagascar)

Instituto Nacional de Investigação Pesqueira, (IIP Mozambique)

Institute for Marine Research (IMR –Norway)

Kenya Marine Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI –Kenya)

• To develop a coarse-scale seabed classification scheme for the continental shelf and upper slope habitats in the WIO
• To characterize and determine the spatial extent of benthic communities of the continental shelf and upper slope in the western part of the WIO
• To create the first benthic biotope descriptions for the continental shelf and upper slope of the western part of the WIO using seabed habitat types and benthic communities
• To identify the location and determine the extent of potentially vulnerable offshore marine habitats in the western part of the WIO

• Cleaned and validated per-country survey data sets and lodged with the respective country archives with appropriate metadata
• An online atlas of seabed habitats and benthic communities of the western part of the WIO (to be housed by the Nairobi Convention Clearinghouse)
• Formal scientific publications, conference presentations and reports to WIOMSA
• The first seabed habitat classification scheme for the WIO
• The first inventory and description of biotopes and potentially vulnerable offshore marine habitats in the WIO

• To establish availability, suitability and spatial distribution of acoustic, Physico-chemical, grab and demersal trawl data from Nansen surveys (and other surveys) for the WIO region
• To undertake a literature and data review of WIO biogeographic provinces, habitats, benthic communities and vulnerable/critical habitats
• Produce GIS layers of seabed acoustic characteristics
• To create maps of biotopes (habitat and community) for the WIO region

Sean Fennessy < seanf@ori.org.za>