Sala Antonello

Senior fisheries scientist (“Director of Research” highest level in Italian system) with more than 30 years experience of studying the wider ecosystem effects of fishing on the marine environment at the National Research Council (CNR), Institute of Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnologies (CNR-IRBIM), Ancona (Italy).

Expert knowledge of physical and biological impacts in the marine environment produced by human activities, as well as impacts and operations of global fisheries, including marine litter, efficiency and selectivity of fishing gears, performance of fishing gears using underwater instrumentation, fishing gear design and modelling, and energy saving measures in fisheries operations. Lead scientist in numerous international research projects (>20) and national projects (>30). Chief scientist in more than 40 interdisciplinary oceanographic sea cruises.

Since 2020, fishing technology consultant (COF.REG) in the Fishing Technology and Operations team (NFIFO) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, Rome). Since 2014, external statistical expert for the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA, Spain). In 2019, programme officer providing scientific advice on the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policies and Fisheries Dependent Information at the European Commission DG Joint Research Centre (JRC, Italy). Since 2018, Fishery team member for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard Certification of sustainable fisheries.

From January 2020, chairperson of the ICES/FAO Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behaviour (WGFTFB). From 2010 to 2019, member and vice-chair (in 2018-2019) of the EU-STECF Committee (European Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries).

Author of numerous peer reviewed publications (87) and holder of 3 patents pending. Author's h-index in Scopus and Web of Science: 24 (Google scholar: 28, with 2934 citations). Member on the editorial board of the Scientific Data (Nature), Frontiers in Marine Science, Open Journal of Marine Science, Journal of Ocean Technology, Turkish Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science, and Journal of Agricultural Science and Applications.

Chair of the ICES Workshops on “The use of Collecting bags in shrimp fisheries (WKCB, 2021)” and “Innovative fishing gear (WKING, 2020)”. Scientific expert for the service to review the work of the ICES Working Group on Spatial Fisheries Data (WGSFD, 2016) for an OSPAR request related to the further development of fishing intensity/pressure mapping. In 2015, scientific expert for the European Parliament for an in-depth analysis of alternative solutions for driftnet fisheries and final oral dissertation in the European Parliament. Scientific expert for the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute for a study on Energy Saving in Trawl Fisheries in China. Scientific member of the Steering Group (2012) for the development of the British Standards Institution “Publicly Available Specification for the Assessment of life cycle greenhouse gas emissions (PAS 2050).