The SUMARiS project aimed to put together the necessary knowledge and evidence in order to implement a species specific cross-border management strategy for rays and skates fishery in the 2 Seas area. Thus, the project sought to allow the fisheries’ professional organisations to switch from limited local scale to a cross-border perspective which was more suitable for the management of a straddling marine biological resource.

By gathering the existing data and completing it, the fisheries professional and scientific partners from the 3 participating countries adopted an evidence-based joint management strategy, protecting less-known species and allowing economic balance for sustainable fishery activities. The survivability exemption and the ability to handle correctly rays on board allowed fishermen to release rays alive back at sea.

The common measures were put in place to optimise the biological resource exploitation by reducing the pressure on the less-known species and avoiding landing juveniles for low value valorisation. 

The project sought through their outputs to enable the fishermen to better identify and register their rays and skates catches. Finally, all the outputs benefit to the fishermen's economic activity in the long term, for one of the major fisheries of the area. SUMARIS delievered : 

● A joint cross-border strategy for the management of rays and skates fisheries.
● Completed rays and skates stocks shared database.
● A Guide allowing for a correct identification and handling of fishing catches for each rays and skates species.
● A training module validating fishing ability for a correct identification and handling of catches by rays and skates species.
● A survival rate test report

Check the “Outputs” section below to download related material and see “Main Achievements” section for further information about the achieved results.

The need for cross-border cooperation with the SUMARIS project was twofold. 

Firstly, biological marine resources are distributed beyond the confines of national boundaries. Taking into consideration the limited scale of the area, fish migrate between territorial waters throughout its lifecycle (reproduction area, juveniles, adults). Those areas need to be mapped out by species so to optimise the fishermen activity and to avoid ecologically sensitive areas.

Secondly, the issue of the common Total Admissible Catch (TAC) for rays and skates was shared by all the countries involved in the project and all the fishermen of the area. Cross-border collaboration in this field was very new and necessary. The management measures for rays and skates had to be done jointly by the decision makers from all the Member States present in the 2 Seas area.

During the project lifetime, different activities were particularly developed thanks to the cross-border cooperation. 
First, partners organised sea-trips. They covered the 2 Seas area, meaning different ICES area, with different vessels from different Member States, which was a real add-value for the scientific community.
Data were collected by scientific institutes. The database provided the involved Member States with data collected during the sea trips (sex, age, species) in the 2 Seas area, which led to management strategy proposals.
Partners decided to establish same tools for fishermen, students, and fish auction employees. The content was the same but translated in three languages depending on the country. Despite different working conditions and national specificities, project partners worked together in the same way with fishermen after considering the best effective methods in each harbour to increase awareness and change behaviour.