Cruise reports 2024

 

Clupea 386

The Cruise is part of the pilot mission "Schutzgebiete Ostsee – Auswirkungen des Ausschlusses mobiler grundberührender Fischerei in marinen Schutzgebieten" funded by the Deutschen Allianz für Meeresforschung (DAM). The aim of this subproject is to record the changes in the demersal and benthic fish fauna in the Natura 2000 areas of the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the Baltic Sea after the exclusion of mobile bottom-contact fishing gear. For this purpose, during the research journey conducted from January 15 to February 2, 2024, survey areas in the Natura 2000 sites were fished and compared with comparable reference areas outside the protected zones. Additionally, oceanographic measurements (temperature, salinity, and oxygen) were carried out using a CTD probe to examine the extent to which the occurrence of fish depends on these parameters. Another task was to test less invasive survey methods for future monitoring in the Natura 2000 areas. For this, surveys using alternative methods are planned.