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. Outcomes of her research are intended to support advice on fisheries management and on ecosystem-based management. She is the National Correspondent for the Belgian DCF, and Belgian ICES ACOM member.