The demonstration of ecological risks to selected biota associated with North Sea fisheries, using "REFEREE"

TNO has developed a mathematical instrument to evaluate the risk to the North Sea environment posed by a variety of activities and/or calamities, called REFEREE = Risk Evaluation Framework for Estimating the Risk of Ecological Effects. This model is capable of evaluating the risk to sensitive biota from solid and liquid waste dumping activities, river outputs etc. Sections of the REFEREE structure have been adapted and employed in the present study to evaluate the risks of defined ecological effects occuring as a result of fisheries activities. With the advanced REFEREE module the risks of five indicator species (herring, plaice, cod, guillemot, porpoise), zooplankton and zoobenthos from commercial fisheries for cod, haddock ,saith, whiting, plaice, sole, sandeel, norway pout, mackerel, dab, herring and sprat, have been estimated. All relevant food relations were compiled in a set of interdependent, numerical equations.