Sampling Methods Applied to Fisheries Science


Book Description

The main objective of this manual is to present the basic and standard concepts of sampling methods applied to fisheries science. In order to ensure sound fisheries research, it is essential to have reliable data from landing ports, fishery stocks and research surveys. A rational management of fishing resources can then be established to ensure a sustainable exploitation rate and responsible fisheries management, providing long-term benefits for all. This document provides an introduction to sampling theory and introduces the theory of the three worlds (population, sample and sampling), as well as a short revision of probability concepts. It also provides an overview of the simple random, random stratified, cluster and two-stage sampling methods. The expressions for estimating the mean and total of the populations, their sampling distributions, the expected values, the sampling variances and their estimates are included and justified for each of the sampling designs. The document also contains a case study of biological sampling from landing ports and exercises that should be used to further understanding of the objectives of sampling and its advantages for fishery resource studies.




Improving Fish Stock Assessments


Book Description

Ocean harvests have plateaued worldwide and many important commercial stocks have been depleted. This has caused great concern among scientists, fishery managers, the fishing community, and the public. This book evaluates the major models used for estimating the size and structure of marine fish populations (stock assessments) and changes in populations over time. It demonstrates how problems that may occur in fisheries dataâ€"for example underreporting or changes in the likelihood that fish can be caught with a given type of gearâ€"can seriously degrade the quality of stock assessments. The volume makes recommendations for means to improve stock assessments and their use in fishery management.




Fisheries Techniques


Book Description




Manual of Fisheries Sampling Surveys


Book Description

This manual contains guidance on data collection methods for developing socio-economic indicators, and it can be used to facilitate and simplify reporting under international conventions and agreements on matters relating to the sustainable fisheries development. The methodologies can be applied to fisheries at many different levels, from individual fisheries and coastal management units to a global level, and it aims to encourage consistent use of statistical methods in data collection.




Report of the FAO Virtual Expert Workshop on the Toolbox for Fisheries Co-management Evaluation


Book Description

The FAO Virtual Expert Workshop on the Toolbox for Fisheries Co-management was held on 24, 26 and 28 May 2021 using the Zoom platform to finalize the outline and contents of the Toolbox for Fisheries Co-management Evaluation and to find out what tools are available for evaluating fisheries co-management effectiveness. Twenty-one participants attended the Workshop: 11 experts, 2 FAO observers and 8 FAO secretariat members. During the Workshop, the drafts of the Toolbox and the Guidebook for Evaluating Fisheries Co-management Effectiveness were presented. The experts were invited to advice on tools and reference materials to perform the evaluation process envisaged in the Guidebook. The experts’ inputs and recommendations received on best practices, indicators, examples of approaches for measuring the indicators, suggested tools and resources will be employed to improve the Toolbox and the Guidebook.




Methods for Fish Biology


Book Description

This book is designed as both a reference and a handbook for the study of fishes. It is a source of methods commonly used to research fish genetics, systematics, anatomy, physiology, developmental biology, toxicology, behavior, and ecology. Standard methods and their theoretical framework are presented for all these fields. Each of the book's 20 chapters also contains a background literature review which, though not exhaustive, allows readers to delve more deeply into subjects that particularly interest them. The main emphasis is on methodology, but the pros and cons of alternative procedures also are treated, as are the uses and misuses of data generated by the techniques.




Methods in Stream Ecology


Book Description

Methods in Stream Ecology, Second Edition, provides a complete series of field and laboratory protocols in stream ecology that are ideal for teaching or conducting research. This updated edition reflects recent advances in the technology associated with ecological assessment of streams, including remote sensing. In addition, the relationship between stream flow and alluviation has been added, and a new chapter on riparian zones is also included. The book features exercises in each chapter; detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students; and taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae. With a student-friendly price, this book is key for all students and researchers in stream and freshwater ecology, freshwater biology, marine ecology, and river ecology. This text is also supportive as a supplementary text for courses in watershed ecology/science, hydrology, fluvial geomorphology, and landscape ecology. - Exercises in each chapter - Detailed instructions, illustrations, formulae, and data sheets for in-field research for students - Taxanomic keys to common stream invertebrates and algae - Link from Chapter 22: FISH COMMUNITY COMPOSITION to an interactive program for assessing and modeling fish numbers




Using R for Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries


Book Description

Using R for Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries has evolved and been adapted from an earlier book by the same author and provides a detailed introduction to analytical methods commonly used by fishery scientists, ecologists, and advanced students using the open-source software R as a programming tool. Some knowledge of R is assumed, as this is a book about using R, but an introduction to the development and working of functions, and how one can explore the contents of R functions and packages, is provided. The example analyses proceed step-by-step using code listed in the book and from the book’s companion R package, MQMF, available from GitHub and the standard archive, CRAN. The examples are designed to be simple to modify so the reader can quickly adapt the methods described to use with their own data. A primary aim of the book is to be a useful resource to natural resource practitioners and students. Featured Chapters: Model Parameter Estimation provides a detailed explanation of the requirements and steps involved in fitting models to data, using R and, mainly, maximum likelihood methods. On Uncertainty uses R to implement bootstrapping, likelihood profiles, asymptotic errors, and Bayesian posteriors to characterize any uncertainty in an analysis. The use of the Monte Carlo Markov Chain methodology is examined in some detail. Surplus Production Models applies all the methods examined in the earlier parts of the book to conducting a stock assessment. This included fitting alternative models to the available data, characterizing the uncertainty in different ways, and projecting the optimum models forward in time as the basis for providing useful management advice.




Tropical Stream Ecology


Book Description

Tropical Stream Ecology describes the main features of tropical streams and their ecology. It covers the major physico-chemical features, important processes such as primary production and organic-matter transformation, as well as the main groups of consumers: invertebrates, fishes and other vertebrates. Information on concepts and paradigms developed in north-temperate latitudes and how they do not match the reality of ecosystems further south is expertly addressed. The pressing matter of conservation of tropical streams and their biodiversity is included in almost every chapter, with a final chapter providing a synthesis on conservation issues. For the first time, Tropical Stream Ecology places an important emphasis on viewing research carried out in contributions from international literature. - First synthetic account of the ecology of all types of tropical streams - Covers all of the major tropical regions - Detailed consideration of possible fundamental differences between tropical and temperate stream ecosystems - Threats faced by tropical stream ecosystems and possible conservation actions - Descriptions and synstheses life-histories and breeding patterns of major aquatic consumers (fishes, invertebrates)




The Photoload Sampling Technique


Book Description

Fire managers need better estimates of fuel loading so they can more accurately predict the potential fire behavior and effects of alternative fuel and ecosystem restoration treatments. This report presents a new fuel sampling method, called the photoload sampling technique, to quickly and accurately estimate loadings for six common surface fuel components (1 hr, 10 hr, 100 hr, and 1000 hr downed dead woody, shrub, and herbaceous fuels). This technique involves visually comparing fuel conditions in the field with photoload sequences to estimate fuel loadings. Photoload sequences are a series of downward-looking and close-up oblique photographs depicting a sequence of graduated fuel loadings of synthetic fuelbeds for each of the six fuel components. This report contains a set of photoload sequences that describe the range of fuel component loadings for common forest conditions in the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, USA to estimate fuel loading in the field. A companion publication (RMRS-RP-61CD) details the methods used to create the photoload sequences and presents a comprehensive evaluation of the technique.