SCILL-E

The Site Classification to Inform Sustainable Lives and Livelihoods for Fisheries and Ecosystems  (SCILL-E), funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund, is being led by Dr Emma Sheehan and Dr Sian Rees from the University of Plymouth’s Marine Conservation Research Group in conjunction with the Isles of Scilly Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IoS IFCA).

The aim of the project is to develop the underpinning research to ensure that the Isles of Scilly has healthy seas which support the wide range of ecosystem functions and services alongside a sustainable and viable fishing industry. Through combining effort across the ecological and social-economic sciences the team will develop decision support tools for the IFCA.

The team area working alongside the Isles of Scilly Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (IFCA) and local fishers to generate baseline ecological and socio-economic data and habitat assessments of the waters around the Scilly Isles.

Through the SCILL-E project, the team will develop a series of decision support tools for the IFCA, characterising the marine environment and identifying how the fisheries and other parts of the economy are linked to the condition of these habitats.

The project will also document the present and future threats to key habitats, predict the likelihood of change and demonstrate the potential scale of impact on ecology, economy and society, ultimately generating a new approach to the management of the Scillies’ seas.