161
H.-J. Ceccaldi et al. (eds.), Marine Productivity: Perturbations and Resilience of Socio-ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-13878-7_17, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
1
Introduction
The English Channel is an economically and ecologically strategic area of North-West Europe. It
represents a signifi cant economic zone where a
number of human activities take place and
compete for space or resources: tourism and
leisure, international ports and freight and exploitation of living and nonliving resources.
The English Channel maritime domain concentrates around 20 % of the worldwide maritime
traffi c, making it one of the most intensively used
sea routes in the world, with 14 million passengers and 2.5 million crafts in 2008. The English
Channel is rich in marine aggregates (sand and
gravel) which are increasingly needed by British
and French building industries. The English
Channel is also rich in terms of biodiversity and
commercial fi shery resources. A number of commercial marine species can be found here, as well
as many spawning, nursery and feeding areas,
plus migration routes for fi sh, birds and marine
mammals. The English Channel is the place
where parts of the Atlantic and North Sea water
Abstract
The Channel programme is a collation of interlinked multidisciplinary
projects supporting ecosystem-based management in the English Channel
by integrating works carried out in the past thirty years including novel
approaches to the spatial modelling of ecosystems. The Channel programme has required a coordination of efforts and expertise by both scientists and stakeholders to address the challenges of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive and of its national implementations. The Channel
programme has also consisted of harmonising information, regulations
and habits in terms of ecosystem management in the English Channel.
P. Marchal (*)
Ifremer, Unité Halieutique de Manche mer du Nord ,
150 quai Gambetta, BP 699 ,
F-62321 Boulogne-sur-mer Cedex , France
e-mail: Paul.Marchal@ifremer.fr
A. Carpentier
Ifremer, Unité Lagons, Ecosystèmes et Aquaculture
Durable en Nouvelle-Calédonie , 101 Promenade
Roger Laroque, BP 2059 , F-98846 Nouméa Cedex,
Nouvelle-Calédonie , France
E. Foucher
Ifremer, Unité Halieutique de Manche mer du Nord ,
Avenue du Général de Gaulle,
14520 Port-en-Bessin , France
The Channel Programme: A LargeScale Integrated Approach
Paul Marchal , André Carpentier and Eric Foucher
H.-J. Ceccaldi et al. (eds.), Marine Productivity: Perturbations and Resilience of Socio-ecosystems,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-13878-7_17, © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
1
Introduction
The English Channel is an economically and ecologically strategic area of North-West Europe. It
represents a signifi cant economic zone where a
number of human activities take place and
compete for space or resources: tourism and
leisure, international ports and freight and exploitation of living and nonliving resources.
The English Channel maritime domain concentrates around 20 % of the worldwide maritime
traffi c, making it one of the most intensively used
sea routes in the world, with 14 million passengers and 2.5 million crafts in 2008. The English
Channel is rich in marine aggregates (sand and
gravel) which are increasingly needed by British
and French building industries. The English
Channel is also rich in terms of biodiversity and
commercial fi shery resources. A number of commercial marine species can be found here, as well
as many spawning, nursery and feeding areas,
plus migration routes for fi sh, birds and marine
mammals. The English Channel is the place
where parts of the Atlantic and North Sea water
Abstract
The Channel programme is a collation of interlinked multidisciplinary
projects supporting ecosystem-based management in the English Channel
by integrating works carried out in the past thirty years including novel
approaches to the spatial modelling of ecosystems. The Channel programme has required a coordination of efforts and expertise by both scientists and stakeholders to address the challenges of the Marine Strategy
Framework Directive and of its national implementations. The Channel
programme has also consisted of harmonising information, regulations
and habits in terms of ecosystem management in the English Channel.
P. Marchal (*)
Ifremer, Unité Halieutique de Manche mer du Nord ,
150 quai Gambetta, BP 699 ,
F-62321 Boulogne-sur-mer Cedex , France
e-mail: Paul.Marchal@ifremer.fr
A. Carpentier
Ifremer, Unité Lagons, Ecosystèmes et Aquaculture
Durable en Nouvelle-Calédonie , 101 Promenade
Roger Laroque, BP 2059 , F-98846 Nouméa Cedex,
Nouvelle-Calédonie , France
E. Foucher
Ifremer, Unité Halieutique de Manche mer du Nord ,
Avenue du Général de Gaulle,
14520 Port-en-Bessin , France
The Channel Programme: A LargeScale Integrated Approach
Paul Marchal , André Carpentier and Eric Foucher