The National Work Program for the Collection of Fisheries Data (PLNRDA) is a strategic program designed to collect, manage, and analyze data related to the fishing, aquaculture, and fish processing industries. The Program enables Italy to comply with a series of EU regulations that make this data collection mandatory. The CNR IRBIM is the lead of a Temporary Grouping of Companies, including public and private partners, which won an international tender issued by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Forests. This is a framework agreement from 2023 to 2027 that is divided into annual special agreements, which must follow the Work Plan approved by the European Commission.
The main objective of the PLNRDA is the collection, control, and processing of fisheries data. These activities include:
Data Collection: Acquisition of detailed information on fishing, aquaculture, and the fish processing industry.
Data Control and Processing: Verification and preliminary analysis of collected data, preparation for upload to community databases.
Data Provision: Transmission of processed data to the Ministry in response to specific requests, such as those from DG MARE/JRC, GFCM, ICCAT, and ICES.
Future Planning: Collaboration with the Administration for the preparation of the 2025-27 Work Plan, to be submitted to the Community Authorities in October 2024.
The PLNRDA represents a fundamental element for the sustainable and responsible management of fisheries resources. Through accurate data collection and rigorous processing, the plan aims to support political and operational decisions in the fisheries sector, contributing to the protection of marine ecosystems and the economic well-being of the involved communities.
Given its breadth and relevance, the PLNRDA involves a large number of researchers from the Institute for Biological Resources and Marine Biotechnologies at the Ancona, Messina, and Mazara del Vallo locations.
ADRIREEF tests innovative actions to assess the suitability of natural and artificial reefs for the development of sustainable activities and in line with Blue Economy principles.
The research activities of the Institute are carried out in the context of research, development and innovation projects, both national and international, based on regional funding programs (POR FEAMPA - Regional Operational Program of the European Maritime Affairs Fisheries Fund and Aquaculture and POR FESR - Regional Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund) or ministerial (PRIN - Projects of relevant national interest, PNRA - National Research Program in Antarctica, PO FEAMPA - National Operational Program European Maritime Affairs Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund) , programs for European Territorial Cooperation (Interreg), direct funding programs of the European Commission (Horizon2020 and Horizon Europe, Life, JPI - Joint Programming Initiatives, ERA-NET Cofund) and thematic collaboration initiatives managed by international organizations such as, for example , the FAO - GFCM (General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean). The Institute also develops funded projects in the context of collaborations with private companies in the sectors of the blue economy as well as technology transfer and research results. Research projects, mainly of a collaborative nature, are developed through a wide network of partners that include major Italian and foreign research institutions and universities.