Sampling of fish and crustaceans at the cooling water intake of an estuarine power plant: a comparison with stow net fishery

Fish and crustaceans were sampled in November 1995 in the cooling water intake of the nuclear power plant Doel (Zeeschelde Estuary, Belgium) and by stow nets, to determine possible differences in species abundance, species biomass, and mean species length between the two methods. A total of 39 species were caught, 32 by stow net and 33 at the intake, with 26 species being caught by both methods. The abundance and biomass were several times higher at the intake than in the stow net samples. Although the average length was higher in the stow net samples in the case of most species, almost all length classes of each population were also present in the samples from the cooling water intake. The results suggest that the cooling water intake is an effective means to collect fish and crustaceans, and reflects the species abundance in the surrounding waters, if the method is combined with surveys to separate local events from long-term trends

Learning together to manage together : improving participation in water management

International audienceThe printed edition of the handbook "Learning together to manage together – improving participation in water management" was published in January 2006. Ecologic actively contributed to the development of the handbook, which is one of the main outputs of the European project Harmonising Collaborative Planning (HarmoniCOP). The HarmoniCOP handbook is the result of an extensive participatory working process involving a multidisciplinary team of scientists, government officials, water managers, and stakeholders of different sectors. The methodology featured in the book is based on the concept of "social learning" advocating collaboration between the different stakeholders from the earliest moment possible. The target groups of the handbook broadly includes all actors involved in the practical implementation of the WFD, such as decision-makers, administrators, NGOs, water users etc. The handbook offers practical guidance to the development of participation processes that meet the actual needs of stakeholders and aims to serve as a reference book for the selection of adequate participatory methods. In the context of the handbook, public participation is understood as a continuously ongoing process