The Advanced school on Multispecies modelling Approaches for ecosystem-based marine REsource management in the MEDiterranean Sea (AMARE-MED) takes place annually and moves around the Mediterranean. Since 2022, the AMARE-MED series has been co-sponsored by The Laboratory on Quantitative Sustainability (TLQS). 

In the context of advancing sustainable fisheries management and fostering capacity building, this year’s summer school focuses on cutting-edge methods for analyzing trawl survey data and their application to multispecies models.

The summer school underscores the importance of capacity building and regional collaboration in the Mediterranean and Black Sea. Through the TLQS programme, a limited number of selected applicants from non-EU Mediterranean and Black Sea countries will receive support. Additional fellowships will be provided by key organising institutions.

The selection of participants is based on expertise, skills, and interest, as demonstrated through the online application process. Participation is free, reflecting the commitment to fostering inclusivity and access to cutting-edge knowledge.

This initiative continues to strengthen scientific dialogue, cooperation, and capacity building across the region, ensuring the effective application of innovative models and approaches for sustainable fisheries management.

 

Programme

AMARE-MED will provide participants with theoretical insights and practical skills, covering essential topics such as:

1. Basic analysis of trawl survey data.
2. Application of joint species distribution models (JSDM), incorporating environmental covariates with data from the Copernicus Marine Service.
3. Predicting species' biomass index under climate change and evaluating species overlap and interactions.
4. Integrating results into Stock Synthesis (SS3) for stock assessment also considering species interactions.

The week-long course will blend lectures with hands-on programming, equipping participants with advanced tools and methodologies crucial for fisheries management.

AMARE-MED editions are generally dedicated to 25-30 students selected on the basis of experience, computational ability, subject knowledge and motivation.

Each edition includes the presentation and use (hands-on computer) of two or three different modelling approaches used for scientific analysis, useful for the management of marine renewable resources: MICE, GADGET, RPATH, CMSY, FISHPATH, ECOSPACE, SMART, SDMtmb (and many others). Internationally renowned researchers such as Andre Punt, Valerio Bartolino, Natalie Dowling, Giampaolo Coro, Kim De Mutsert, Natalia Serpetti, Tommaso Russo, Lewis Barnett were speakers in previous editions. Since 2017, the OGS modelling group has been the promoter and main organiser of AMARE-MED, in collaboration with other Italian and foreign research institutes, which have also hosted some editions (2017 CapoGranitola-Italy; 2018 Trieste-Italy; 2019 Venice-Italy; 2021 Split-Croatia; 2022 Larnaka-Cyprus; 2024 Lisbon-Portugal). 

This year, AMARE-MED 2025 will be held in Tunisia from 19 - 23 May, organized by OGS and INSTM, focusing on the Joint Species Distribution Model (tinyVAST) and stock assessment model application considering multispecies interactions (SS3). The teachers will be Andre Punt and James Thorson.