Spain has been developing the 'Platuxa' campaign since 1995.
El Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food and the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) are launching the 'Platuxa' campaign to assess demersal fishery resources of Spanish fleet commercial interest in Newfoundland's Grand Banks.
Therefore, IEO researchers, who travel on the ministry's oceanographic vessel Vizconde de Eza, will recollect fishing activity data for proper fish population management.
These data estimate the abundance, biomass, and demographic structure of the populations in divisions 3NO (international waters adjacent to Canada's exclusive economic zone), to a maximum depth of 1,500 meters.
The populations consist of plaice, cod, black halibut, redfish, yellowtail flounder, American plaice, and grenadiers, among others. In addition, the communities of invertebrates present in the catches and the characterization of the water's physicochemical parameters will be analyzed.
Spain has been developing 'Platuxa' since 1995. According to the ministry, the continuity of this campaign on the Grand Bank of Newfoundland is essential for fisheries and environmental management, as it is used in the Scientific Council of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food offers the ships and their equipment to researchers. For example, scientists of IEO began in late April the MEDITS_ES_2024 campaign for the assessment of fishery resources in the western Mediterranean Sea at the Miguel Oliver vessel.