OSPAR Science Agenda Knowledge Gap Portal
Welcome to the OSPAR Science Agenda knowledge gap portal. The page showcases important scientific questions and evidence needs identified by OSPAR to help protect and sustainably manage the North-East Atlantic. Use the filters and search options below to explore knowledge gaps by topic, category, region, and status, or browse visually to discover areas where new research, data, or collaborations are needed. The aim is to make it easy for anyone - scientists, funders, and policy makers to understand the current priorities, access key details, and get involved in helping to close these important gaps for a healthier ocean future.
Showing 26 - 50 of 168 items
Integration methods and cumulative effects assessments to assess impacts of human activities and climate change on food webs
ID Number: TBC
Knowledge gap description: Integration methods and cumulative effects assessments need to be further developed to capture impacts of human activities and climate change on food webs, in terms of changes in trophic and non-trophic interactions and the supply of ecosystem services.
Knowledge Gap Category:
5. cumulative effects & integration
Assessment Category:
Thematic assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D4C1, D4C2, D4C3, D4C4
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Food webs Thematic Assessment
Availability of reference condition habitat data and pressure-state relationships at the regional scale
ID Number: BB09.11
Knowledge gap description: Sensitivity data: The limited availability of reference condition habitat data and pressure-state relationships at the regional scale resulted in the reliance on expert knowledge and extrapolation of available pressure-state data. Greater availability of data from unimpacted areas, to serve as reference when assessing sensitivity, is needed to improve understanding of ecosystem changes in response to physical disturbance from extraction.
Knowledge Gap Category:
2. thresholds & references
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Aggregate Extraction
Data on habitat recovery once extraction pressure has been removed
ID Number: BB09.12
Knowledge gap description: Sensitivity data: Assessments of resilience and predictions of disturbance magnitude could be improved with studies of habitat recovery once extraction pressure has been removed (e.g., surrendered licensed areas).
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Aggregate Extraction
Standardization of data on annual extraction activity footprint
ID Number: BB09.13
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: There was a lack of annual extraction activity footprint with standardised intensity data. An agreed common format of extraction pressure, indicative of physical pressure on the seabed at a standardised spatial resolution would give a more representative assessment of disturbance across the OSPAR Maritime Area. The estimation of intensity of physical pressure could be improved with additional data (e.g., extraction volume, if the activity was static or mobile, and the footprint of the draghead used).
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Aggregate Extraction
Development of monitoring devices for active dredging
ID Number: BB09.14
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Wider adoption of monitoring devices that only record active dredging would help reduce overestimation of dredging when vessels are transiting at slow speeds.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Aggregate Extraction
Combination of physical disturbance from bottom-contact fishing and aggregate extraction into a cumulative pressure index
ID Number: BB09.15
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: The current assessments of physical disturbance from bottom-contact fishing and aggregate extraction assess each pressure independently. Future approaches could combine these and any additional pressures into a single cumulative pressure index, enabling multiple pressures to be expressed as a single disturbance response.
Knowledge Gap Category:
1. indicator development
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Aggregate Extraction
Biological data from areas where fishing pressure has been removed
ID Number: BB09.12
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Biological data from areas where fishing pressure has been removed (e.g., no-take zones) would help improve understanding of receptor recovery and will be explored in future work. Improved vessel monitoring (VMS) data for missing fleets and vessels < 12 m would be beneficial.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Availability of Vessel Monitoring information
ID Number: BB09.13
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Since there is little Vessel Monitoring (VMS) information, the spatial extent of pressures associated with bottom-contact fishing activity could have been underestimated in some areas.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Inclusion of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems data
ID Number: BB09.14
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Inclusion of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems (I-VMS) data in assessments would increase the confidence of assessments in inshore waters, where smaller vessels are most likely to operate.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Adequate Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data
ID Number: BB09.15
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: There was missing or inadequate Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data from Portugal, Norway, and Iceland. Therefore, bottom-contact fishing pressure may have appeared to be absent and/or underrepresented despite the occurrence of fleet activities.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Improvement of Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data quality assurance protocols
ID Number: BB09.16
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: The improvement of Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data quality assurance protocols by OSPAR Contracting Parties prior to submission of data to ICES will improve the coverage of pressure data in future assessments.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Coverage of Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data
ID Number: BB09.17
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data obtained from ICES via the OSPAR data call did not cover the entirety of Kattegat. The new OSPAR benthic habitat assessment units extended beyond the original spatial extent of the official OSPAR Region boundaries used in the data call, which resulted in the potential absence of VMS data. In future assessments, modifications to assessment units that potentially extend beyond the areas agreed in the data call could results in similar knowledge gaps and should be accounted for, where feasible.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Availability of fishing intensity data
ID Number: BB09.18
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Due to limitations associated with the availability of fishing intensity data, the current method may have been overestimated in areas where vessel speeds were likely to be reduced during transit near ports or in adverse weather conditions and were inaccurately attributed to speeds associated with trawling activity.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Distribution and intensity of pressure within individual c-squares.
ID Number: BB09.19
Knowledge gap description: Pressure data: Knowledge gaps were identified regarding the distribution and intensity of pressure within individual c-squares (spatial grids).
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Response of benthic habitats to consistent or variable abrasion pressure
ID Number: BB09.20
Knowledge gap description: The BH3 assessment of the risk of disturbance from physical abrasion pressures associated with bottom-contact fisheries categorised and assessed surface and subsurface Swept Area Ratios separately. Future work investigating the response of benthic habitats to consistent or variable abrasion pressure would help inform how pressure impacts could be best represented across an assessment period.
Knowledge Gap Category:
1. indicator development
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Integration of Data on habitat distribution and sensitivity
ID Number: BB09.22
Knowledge gap description: Geographical application: Data on habitat distribution and sensitivity is expected to be included at a later stage, to allow the analysis to address the wider spatial scale and assess variations in disturbance across OSPAR Regions more accurately.
Knowledge Gap Category:
3. assessment areas
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Extent of Physical Disturbance to Benthic Habitats: Fisheries with mobile bottom-contacting gears
Spatial resolution of the Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data
ID Number: BB21.03a
Knowledge gap description: Pressures: Increasing the spatial resolution of the Vessel Monitoring (VMS) data would improve the confidence in BH1 assessment results, especially in areas geomorphologically complex such as the Iberian Peninsula.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Sentinels of the Seabed
Accuracy of estimates of trawling effort
ID Number: BB21.03b
Knowledge gap description: Pressures: Trawling effort may have been overestimated in some areas where vessel speeds were reduced during manoeuvres not linked to commercial bottom fishing (such as entering/exiting ports or during adverse weather conditions), but were erroneously are attributed to trawling.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Sentinels of the Seabed
Inclusion of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems data.
ID Number: BB21.03c
Knowledge gap description: Pressures: Inclusion of Inshore Vessel Monitoring Systems (I-VMS) data in assessments would increase the confidence of assessments in inshore waters, where smaller vessels are most likely to operate.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C3
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: Greater North Sea, Celtic Seas, Bay of Biscay and Iberian Coast
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Sentinels of the Seabed
Maerl beds: knowledge of human activities and pressure/sensitivity studies
ID Number: TBC
Knowledge gap description: Improved knowledge of human activities and pressure/sensitivity studies will increase understanding of the status of maerl beds.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Status assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C4, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Status Assessment 2019 - Maerl beds
Knowledge about the resilience of communities to disturbance and change
ID Number: TBC
Knowledge gap description: Knowledge gaps of biodiversity and resilience of communities to disturbance and change (e.g. fishing, climate change, potential future deep-seabed mining).
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Status assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D6C4, D6C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Status Assessment 2022 - Oceanic Ridges with hydrothermal vents
Sea-pen and Burrowing Megafauna Communities: definition, data and threshold values
ID Number: TBC
Knowledge gap description: Insufficent data, pressure thresholds in relation to varying intensity of fishing pressure and condition of habitat. Habitat definition inexplicit.
Knowledge Gap Category:
2. thresholds & references, 4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Status assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D1C1, D1C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Status Assessment 2022 - Sea-pen and Burrowing Megafauna Communities
Zostera beds: lack of knowledge about the impact of pressures on the habitat.
ID Number: TBC
Knowledge gap description: lack of knowledge of how different pressures may interact to disturb and damage the habitat. Changes following human-induced threats in comparison to changes related to natural variability can also be hard to determine.
Knowledge Gap Category:
4. data coverage
Assessment Category:
Status assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D1C2, D1C5
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Status Assessment 2022 - Zostera beds
Relationship between human pressures and demersal fish community
ID Number: BB07.03
Knowledge gap description: A full understanding of relationships between all human pressures and their impact on the full demersal fish community (not just the commercially fished stocks) is needed.
Knowledge Gap Category:
5. cumulative effects & integration
Assessment Category:
Common indicator assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D4C3
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Proportion of Large Fish (Large Fish Index)
Integrating concepts of ecosystem function into fisheries management regulation
ID Number: BB33.02
Knowledge gap description: For by-catch, there is need to integrate concepts of ecosystem function into fisheries management regulation (e.g., trophic cascades) and how management regimes consider the impact of fisheries on the pelagic habitat and food webs
Knowledge Gap Category:
5. cumulative effects & integration
Assessment Category:
Thematic assessment
Relevant for MSFD Art 8:
D1C1
Implementation Status
OSPAR Region: All Regions
Source of knowledge gap: QSR2023 - Fish Thematic Assessment