Photo: Promote Iceland

Case Studies

There is a large amount of diverse data collected in the Arctic marine environment, but the majority of the data is not utilised or shared. This includes for example meteorological, oceanographical, ecological, biological, social, and economic data. The ARCFISH project will demonstrate in two use cases how already collected data can be utilised and shared with the DTO platform, and how it can then be used to make better informed decisions by scientists, policy makers and resource users.

Greenland - Ecosystem modelling and data products as part of DTO

Greenland, home to about 60,000 people, mostly along its west coast, heavily relies on the marine ecosystem for its economy. Disko Bay, situated on Greenland's west coast at the Arctic sea ice's southern edge, is influenced by both sub-Arctic and Arctic waters, making it a biodiversity and fisheries hotspot. The 3D dynamic FlexSem model of Disko Bay, which uses Greenland Ecosystem Monitoring data and Copernicus data, has been developed to study the area's primary production sensitivity to sea ice cover and runoff. Despite these advancements, ecosystem models have not yet been incorporated into Arctic region management systems. Thus, there's a pressing need to enhance these models and develop relevant indicators for food web interactions, stock distributions, and biomass. By analyzing the FlexSem model outputs alongside other observations, new indicators of fish resources will be developed, enhancing the understanding of fish and shrimp stock distributions and supporting sustainable fishery management.

Iceland - Fishery-dependant information as part of DTO

Iceland is the second largest seafood supplier in Europe, after Norway, with 1.2-1.5 million annual catches over the past years. The sector is immensely important for the national economy, employing 6% of the labor market and contributing 7% of the GDP. The Icelandic seafood industry is technologically advanced, generating extensive data across various links of the value chain. However, there is a need to enhance the sharing and practical use of this data to ensure transparency and sustainable utilization. The ARCFISH project aims to integrate data collected onboard fishing vessels and in seafood processing into the Digital Twin Ocean (DTO), thereby providing valuable insights for policymakers, the seafood industry, marine researchers, and academics. The project focuses on Iceland's largest seafood company, Brim hf., and Trackwell, which supplies eLogbooks and decision support software, highlighting how environmental data can be combined with operational data for comprehensive reporting and decision-making.