IMBUS

Data collection in the North Sea with the research vessel Dana IV as part of the International Bottom Trawl Survey. Photo: Line Reeh.

The IMBUS research project is about unlocking the full potential of marine survey data—making it easier to use, more reliable, and more useful for decision-making. The project will help track how fish populations and ecosystems are changing, especially in response to climate change.

Background

Every year, a lot of effort and money go into collecting data from fisheries surveys in the area of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, ICES.

These surveys help track fish and other marine life over time—looking at things like how many there are, how big they are, where they live, and how ecosystems are changing.

But there’s a problem: the data can be hard to work with. It often requires advanced technical skills to access and understand, and sometimes the quality isn’t good enough for reliable analysis.

Ambitions

The ambitions of the research project IMBUS—Implementing More and Better Use of ICES Survey Data—are to:

improve quality control of survey data-collection at sea.
develoop new indicators for stock assessment and spatial distributions.
widely disseminate the survey results to different user groups.

The project is active from September 2025 to August 2027.

Main objectives of IMBUS

Visualization and modelling of species distrubution

IMBUS will create tools that help visualize and model how different species are distributed over time and space, including species that aren’t currently assessed.

IMBUS will turn raw survey data into useful information for things like stock assessments, ecosystem and biodiversity studies, vlimate change tracking, and fisheries management.

By combining data from multiple surveys and looking at patterns over time and across regions, IMBUS will develop indicators that show how species are responding to climate change and fishing. The project will also estimate biomass, abundance, growth rates, and body condition using length, weight, and age data.

IMBUS will involve a wide range of users—scientists, fishing groups, NGOs, managers, and advisory councils—to understand their needs.

Improving quality check of data at sea

Another big part of IMBUS is improving how data is checked during surveys.

Right now, most quality checks happen after the data is uploaded to the ICES database. That can lead to problems—sometimes data has to be thrown out, or errors go unnoticed.

IMBUS will create tools for real-time quality control on survey vessels. These tools will compare each haul and measurement to expected values, helping catch mistakes early and improve accuracy.

The software will work both offline and in the cloud, adapting to different vessels and survey methods. It will also help visualize new observations as they come in.

Funding of IMBUS

The IMBUS project has a budget of 600 000 € and is supported by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) under the call 'Improving scientific knowledge to strengthen the science-basis of management decisions under the Common Fisheries Policy (EMFAF-2025-PIA-FisheriesScientificAdvice) (project no. 101241455).

Partners in IMBUS

unlocking the full potential of marine survey data