Marine spatial planning (MSP) is an important process for identifying which areas of the ocean are appropriate for marine uses including blue economy activities. MSP relies on geospatial data layers that span human uses as well as areas of ecological importance to facilitate an adaptive, ecosystem-based management of anthropogenic activities, which is critical for delivery of environmental, social, and economic sustainability.

The dynamic nature of marine ecosystems in space and time creates a challenge for integrating ecological layers (such as essential habitat for fish species) into MSP. At present, there is a lack of ecological data for generating useable information in most marine areas.

To create usable information, requires identifying the physical and biological parameters that need to be measured, as well the necessary resolution and scale of those ecological measurements, the tools for acquiring them, and methods for translating them into information layers suitable for MSP.

As part of the project I will:

(i) review the literature, drawing especially on the European and North American experiences, to identify key ecosystem properties that might be impacted by different classes of blue economy activity, and to identify the gaps in existing data collection protocols;

(ii) identify metrics of impact and/or condition that can be routinely measured by hydroacoustic techniques and specifically those that might plug identified gaps;

(iii) apply the findings of (ii) to case study(ies) area(s) where developments are occurring, for example the BEZ;

(iv) make recommendations for more cost-effective monitoring of Blue Economy developments using hydroacoustics.