Last week, the Monitoring Committee of the Interreg NEXT Black Sea Basin Programme selected the projects to be funded under the Second Call. In total, 52 projects (28 regular and 24 small-scale) were approved, with a total EU Interreg funding of 46.6 million Euros.
We are pleased to announce that one of the approved projects includes WatchReefFish, in which the Central Fisheries Research Institute is a proud partner. This project is a continuation of our previous efforts under the Biodiversa+ Eurockfish initiative, focusing on biodiversity monitoring in rocky reef habitats of the Black Sea.
WatchReefFish will apply non-invasive monitoring methods, including Underwater Visual Census (UVC), Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems, and environmental DNA (eDNA) analysis, to gather valuable data across pilot sites.
Key outputs of the project include:
Jointly applied and standardized protocols for monitoring reef fish populations,
Publicly available interactive digital maps visualizing fish biodiversity across reef ecosystems,
An AI-powered tool capable of identifying reef fish species from images and videos,
Comprehensive datasets supporting the conservation and restoration of marine biodiversity,
Capacity-building workshops and policy briefs to enhance awareness and promote sustainable fisheries management.
By fostering cross-border collaboration and generating accessible tools and data, the WatchReefFish project aims to strengthen the resilience of the Black Sea’s marine ecosystem and support future Marine Protected Area (MPA) designations.