|
|
Research in Fisheries Science and Management
In the Fisheries Science and Management Research Group,
our research objective is to improve the management of
fish populations and fisheries. Our research covers
marine and freshwater systems, including interactions
among fishes, marine mammals, invertebrates, and their
habitats. We are pursuing research on three broad topics:
- Key processes that affect the dynamics of aquatic populations.
- Methods for estimating key parameters and
quantifying uncertainties for use in
conservation and management of aquatic populations.
- Approaches to reducing uncertainties or their consequences.
Below are some examples of our recent and current research
projects. In most projects, we examine the direct management
implications of our findings. We also apply and develop
advanced quantitative methods for analyzing fisheries data
and management problems. Our research has received major
national and international
awards.
(1) Key Processes
- Environmental causes of variation in survival and growth rates in fishes;
- Dynamic responses of commercial and recreational fishing fleets;
- Ecosystem effects of fishing, both direct and indirect;
- Fisheries management from an ecosystem perspective;
- Effects of uncertainties on management regulations;
- Effects of land use on fish habitat.
Source: Pacific Salmon Society
|
For example, to improve understanding of environmental
causes of variation in survival rates, growth rates,
and age at maturity of Pacific salmon, we are using large
multi-stock data sets. Such work
is important because changes in these key processes
affect conservation risks associated with fishing,
climatic change, and other disturbances, as well as
fish biomass available for harvesting.
(2) Development of methods for
conservation and management of aquatic populations
- Assessment methods for new and data-poor fisheries;
- Combining multiple sources of information;
- Maximum likelihood methods for estimating recruitment from survey data;
- Bayesian hierarchical models of multiple populations;
- Statistical methods for tracking time-varying fish productivity arising
from changes in climate and the environment;
- Pre-season forecasting of abundance of Pacific salmon;
- Effects of regulations, bycatch, and discarding behaviour on marine biodiversity;
We use these methods to estimate key parameters and quantify
uncertainties. We are also exploring the management implications
of uncertainties arising from natural variability and measurement
error by developing and applying empirically based simulation
models to various fisheries.
We also apply decision analysis, Bayesian statistics,
and classical statistical analysis of data to a wide
range of fisheries management issues.
Some examples include:
- Improved models for managing low-abundance
salmon stocks to help identify appropriate
"limit reference points" and the associated
decision rules;
- Biological and economic analysis of uncertainties
about lake fertilization;
- Harvest strategies for marine invertebrates;
- Appropriate "safety margins" for harvesting fish,
given uncertainties and conservation concerns;
- Discarding behaviour in groundfish fisheries
and regulations to reduce discarding;
- A decision-support model for deciding
when to open or close a fishery;
- Optimal stocking rates for rainbow trout in lakes.
(3) Approaches to reducing uncertainties or their consequences
We are developing and applying approaches to reduce
the magnitude of uncertainties that are
inherent in fisheries. For instance:
- Design of monitoring programs for determining effects of climate change on Pacific salmon;
- Application of Marine Protected Areas
in fisheries management;
- Simulation studies to develop robust methods
for fisheries management that incorporate all aspects
of the system, from data collection and stock assessment
methods through to the setting of regulations and
allowing for imperfect compliance with those regulations.
We collaborate closely with research scientists, managers, and other people from numerous international, federal, and provincial/state management agencies, as well as conservation organizations and industry harvesters' associations.
Policy Documents
We have had the opportunity to incorporate some of our
research findings and methods into documents intended to
influence management and fishing practices on a national
and international scale. For example, our group's
research on uncertainties and risk led to an invitation
from the United Nations' Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) in Rome for Randall Peterman to join a
team of scientists to write the guidelines for
implementing the "Precautionary approach to fisheries"
(FAO 1995 -- see
published technical reports).
This FAO document has been
used widely by fisheries management agencies worldwide
as they revised their approaches to dealing with
uncertainties. Key elements of the document are also
incorporated in the 1995 United Nations Agreement on
Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks
and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.
Randall Peterman co-chaired (1996-1999) a panel of
9 Canadian and American experts in a wide range of
fields (oceanography, economics, policy analysis,
fish biology, and anthropology) for the Canadian Global
Change Program of the Royal Society of Canada. The panel's
1999 report (de Young et al. 1999), "Canadian Marine
Fisheries in a Changing and Uncertain World," outlines
a vision for future sustainable marine fisheries for Canada.
It develops several guiding principles that, in the
presence of change, uncertainty, and risk, can help
management agencies, industry, harvesters, and coastal
fishing-dependent communities attain the overall goals of:
- Biologically productive aquatic systems,
- Economically viable fishing industries, and
- Sustainable fishing-dependent communities.
[Top of Page ]
|
