Hello, and welcome aboard the R/V Dr. Fridtjof Nansen!
My name is Edoardo Mostarda, and I'm a marine biologist. Since 2011, I’ve been working with the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). At work, I'm responsible for the development of identification tools to help fishery workers who collect fishery statistics to improve the taxonomic resolution of the catches.
FAO has a long history of working with these important issues. Since the 1970s, our fisheries experts have worked with the FishFinder programme – once known as the Species Identification and Data programme.
Other FAO programmes are increasingly integrating the activities of the FishFinder programme into their work plans. One example is back in 2012, when the Deep-sea fisheries programme requested assistance in creating identification tools to help fishery data collectors working in the Areas Beyond Natural Jurisdiction.
Marine areas beyond national jurisdiction comprise about 64% of the surface of our oceans. These areas comprise the high seas (eg the water column) and the seabed beyond national jurisdiction and these are the areas for which no one nation has sole responsibility for management. In the deep seas, there are particular challenges such as protecting vulnerable and important ecosystems and species. This research trip is an example of the type of support the EAF-Nansen can provide in these marine areas beyond national jurisdiction.
We’ve been asked to assist in the identification of deep-sea vulnerable species, such as certain groups of sponges and corals, and cartilaginous fishes in the Southeastern Atlantic, and that’s what I’ll be explaining to you in these weeks. I've joined this survey to test the species catalogue publications we've produced before releasing them, and therefore my first expectation is to catch some sharks!
I'm also interested in improving my knowledge on vulnerable marine ecosystems species, such as sponges and corals. Learning more about these species will help us to publish proper identification guides. Finally, I would like to learn more about the habitats and species of the deep sea seamounts of this region.
I hope you’ll be joining me throughout this research cruise, and learning alongside all of us. The crew and I are happy to answer your questions as we begin our voyage.
20/01/2015