About the project

VECTORS is a multidisciplinary large-scale integrated European Project supported within the Ocean of Tomorrow call of the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme, which aims to improve our understanding of how environmental and man-made factors are impacting marine ecosystems now and how they will do so in the future. The project will examine how these changes will affect the range of goods and services provided by the oceans, the ensuing socio-economic impacts and some of the measures that could be developed to reduce or adapt to these changes.

The VECTORS project will inform the development and implementation of forthcoming strategies, policies and regulations such as the International Maritime Organization Convention on Ballast Water Management, the EU Maritime Policy and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive.

VECTORS will also develop a common, spatially-explicit cross-sector model framework (sensu ATLANTIS) which will link all of the key research within VECTORS. A further goal is to produce regular synthesis reports of the project's progress and results. The implications of the project's findings will be summarised and disseminated to the policymaker and stakeholder audience.

VECTORS will explore current and future ecological, social and economic consequences of change in the marine environment and is therefore focused on the Ecosystem Approach in the strictest sense in which humans are an integral part of the ecosystem. The project views that the overall aim of marine management is to deliver economic goods and services for the benefit of society while at the same time maintaining, enhancing and protecting ecological goods and services.

At the end of the project a final VECTORS synthesis report will be prepared and made widely available. This report will provide firm and detailed recommendations to the full spectrum of policymakers and stakeholders.

Project Details 

Coordination and Management

VECTORS is coordinated from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK.

Project Coordinator:  Dr. Melanie Austen   Tel: +44 (0) 1752 633489  Email: mcva@pml.ac.uk	Project Manager: Jennifer Lockett Tel: +44 (0) 1752 633476 Email:jelo@pml.ac.uk