Simon Fraser University
REM


Sean Cox

Associate Professor
Fisheries Science and Management

B.Sc. Biology (University of Massachusetts-Lowell)
M.Sc. Oceanography (University of British Columbia)
Ph.D. Resource Management (University of British Columbia)

Sean Cox is a fisheries scientist focusing on aquatic conservation and management of human impacts on aquatic ecosystems. His research develops quantitative fisheries stock assessment methods and field research to address issues in fisheries management such as (i) design and evaluation of management procedures for commercial groundfish, herring, and salmon fisheries; (ii) evaluating impacts of bottom-fishing gear on benthic marine ecosystems; and (iii) the role of spatial processes in fish population dynamics, fisheries, and monitoring programs. All theme areas involve the extensive use of mathematical and statistical modelling techniques.

Sean frequently provides fishery assessment and management advice to Canadian federal and provincial fisheries agencies as well as several fishing industry associations, conservation groups, and eco-certification bodies.

Some of Sean’s publications include:

Full Publication Listing

  • Holt, K.R., Peterman, R.M., and Cox, S.P. 2011.Trade-offs between monitoring objectives, and monitoring effort when classifying regional conservation status of Pacific salmon populations. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 68:880-897 with supplement.
  • Cleary, J.S., Cox, S.P., and Schweigert, J. 2010. Performance evaluation of harvest control rules for Pacific herring management in British Columbia, Canada. ICES Journal of Marine Science 67:2005-2011.
  • Holt, K.R., Cox, S.P., and J. Sawada. 2009. In-season forecasting of coho salmon marine survival via coded wire tag recoveries. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 29: 1165-1182.
  • Cox, S.P. and Kronlund, A.R. 2008. Practical stakeholder driven harvest policies for British Columbia groundfish fisheries. Fisheries Research. (available online doi:10.1016/j.fishres.2008.05.006).
  • Holt, K.R. and Cox, S.P. 2008. Evaluation of visual survey programs for monitoring coho salmon escapement in relation to conservation guidelines. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 64: 1770-1780.
  • Hirner, J.L. and S.P. Cox. 2007. Effects of rainbow trout on amphibian density and growth in productive recreational fishing lakes of British Columbia. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 65: 212-226.
  • Parkinson E.A., Post J.R. and S.P. Cox. 2004. Linking harvesting effort dynamics to recruitment dynamics in a multi-stock, spatially-structured fishery. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 61: 1658-1670.
  • Cox, S.P., J. Sawada, and W. de la Mare. 2003. In-season forecasting of North Coast coho salmon marine survival: a decision analytic method and retrospective analysis. Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat res. Doc. 2003/063.
  • Cox, S.P., and J.F. Kitchell. 2004. Lake Superior Ecosystem, 1929-1998: simulating alternative hypotheses for recruitment failure of lake herring (Coregonus artedi). Bulletin of Marine Science 74: 607-620.
  • Cox, S.P., T. E. Essington, J. F. Kitchell, S. J.D. Martell, C. J. Walters, C. Boggs, and I. Kaplan. (2002). Reconstructing ecosystem dynamics in the Central Pacific Ocean, 1952-1998. I. Estimating population biomass and recruitment of tunas and billfishes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59: 1724-1735.
  • Cox, S.P., T. E. Essington, J. F. Kitchell, S. J.D. Martell, C. J. Walters, C. Boggs, and I. Kaplan. (2002). Reconstructing ecosystem dynamics in the Central Pacific Ocean, 1952-1998. II. A preliminary assessment of the trophic impacts of fishing and effects on tuna dynamics. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 59: 1736-1747.
  • Cox, S.P., Walters, C.J., and J.R. Post. (2003). A model-based evaluation of active management of recreational fishing effort. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 23(4): 1294-1302.
  • Cox, S.P., Beard, T.D. and Walters, C.J. (2002). Harvest control in open-access sport fisheries: hot rod or asleep at the reel? Bulletin of Marine Science 70(2): 749-761.
  • Cox, S. P and Walters, C.J. (2002). Maintaining quality in recreational fisheries: how success breeds failure in the management of open-access fisheries. Pages 107 - 119 in T.J. Pitcher and C. Hollingworth, editors. Recreational fisheries: Ecological, Economic, and Social Evaluation. Blackwell Science, Oxford, UK.
  • Cox, S. P., Walters, C.J. and Post, J. R. (2002). Modeling exploitation in recreational fisheries and implications for effort management on British Columbia rainbow trout lakes. North American Journal of Fisheries Management 22: 21-34.
  • Cox, S. P. and Hinch, S.G. 1997. Changes in size at maturity of Fraser River sockeye salmon (1952-1993) and associations with temperature. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 54(5). p.1159-1165.

Dr. Cox teaches Population and Community Ecology (REM 611), Simulation Modeling in Natural Resource Management (REM 612), Applied Ecology and Sustainable Environments (REM 311), and Advanced Methods in Fisheries Assessment (REM 614).