A New EU Project Focused on Unlocking Survey Value
A new EU-funded project, IMBUS, has been launched to improve how ICES bottom‑trawl survey data are collected, checked and accessed.
The two-year initiative, published on 24 February 2026, is designed to ensure that decades of survey information held in the DATRAS database can be used more effectively for climate, biodiversity and fisheries questions.
Carsten Hvingel of DTU Aqua, who leads the project, says: “We’ve been collecting bottom‑trawl survey data for decades, and it’s gold for understanding our ocean. But right now, too much of that gold is underutilized: we are not using the data to improve the quality of the data collection itself, and we are constraining the group of potential users because of the specialist skills that are required.”
ICES Infrastructure at the Centre of Development
ICES plays the central role in IMBUS. The ICES Data Centre is responsible for sustainability and integration, ensuring that everything developed during the project becomes permanently embedded into ICES systems, including DATRAS and ICES Shiny servers.
“This isn’t about creating standalone tools that fade away when EU funding ends,” says Vaishav Soni from the ICES Data Centre. “We’re embedding these capabilities directly into DATRAS and our Shiny servers. When IMBUS finishes, these tools stay—maintained, updated, and available to everyone.”
IMBUS will work directly with ICES groups including the International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group, the Working Group on Beam Trawl Surveys, the Workshop on fish distribution and WKLIFE to ensure that tools are designed and tested with real scientific needs in mind.
Real‑Time Quality Control at Sea
One of the project’s major advances is the development of standardised real‑time quality‑control tools for use onboard survey vessels. Instead of detecting errors only after data are uploaded to DATRAS, scientists will be able to validate information during the survey itself.
“We’ve all had that sinking feeling when you realize there’s a problem with your data, but the survey ended three months ago,” says David Stokes from the Marine Institute in Ireland, who coordinates this part of the work. “Real-time QC means we can fix things while we still can.”
Each haul will be checked immediately against expected values, reducing the risk of unusable or inconsistent survey records.
Making DATRAS More Accessible for Users
The second major component is the creation of accessible interfaces for DATRAS data through new Shiny applications. These tools will allow users to explore species distributions, produce biomass indices and examine climate‑related changes without needing advanced technical skills.
Behind the interface, IMBUS will handle the complexities of combining surveys that use different gears and protocols, allowing broader use of bottom‑trawl time series by scientists, Advisory Councils and fisheries organisations.
Broader Connections Across International Initiatives
IMBUS links with wider research work, including FISHGLOB under the UN Ocean Decade. Its Stakeholder Advisory Board includes representation from four Advisory Councils and fishing companies to ensure that the tools developed meet real operational needs.
“Many groups could make good use of survey data if it is available in a comprehensible way,” says Martin Pastoors of DTU Aqua. “IMBUS makes sure we build what people actually need.”
