Els Torreele is the head of the Fisheries Biology research group at the Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) in Ostend, Belgium. She is responsible for the coordination and implementation of the Belgian Data Collection Framework (DCF). One of the main tasks of her research group is the coordination, organization and implementation of the data collection on biological and socio-economic data, fisheries dependent & independent data, including the recreational fisheries and bycatch.
Els is also supervising a range of EU-projects and research covering the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in fisheries. This transdisciplinary research incorporates the impacts and benefits of AI on biological, social and economic level, as well the processes, methodologies, knowledge and goals of stakeholders from science, industry and politics. This work contributes to science-policy interfaces and social processes where the exchange between scientists, decision makers and stakeholders takes place. The outcomes of her research are intended to support advice on fisheries management and on ecosystem-based management.
