Geostatistics for Estimating Fish Abundance

Geostatistics is a branch of spatial statistics that was originally developed for the mining industry. The technique is now widely recognised as an important tool for the estimation of the abundance and distribution of natural resources. However, new developments have been required to extend its application to fisheries science, particularly in variogram estimation. This important new title describes the fundamentals of geostatistics in terms more familiar to life-scientists, and uses case studies on seven commercially important fish stocks to demonstrate its application to fisheries survey data. Comprehensive and practical advice is given on how this new method can be used to estimate the abundance (with an appropriate measure of precision) of fish stocks worldwide.

Geostatistics for Estimating Fish Abundance will be of vital interest to fisheries research scientists, marine biologists, oceanographers, marine and fish ecologists, environmental scientists and experts involved in the assessment of natural animal resources.

The book has been developed as a result of studies carried out by a collaborative team of international researchers expert in this area with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, AIR specific RTD programme.

1. Introduction.

2. Data Collection and Preparation.

2.1 Survey Design.

2.2 Measurement of Fish Density.

2.3 Preparation of Data for Analysis.

3 Geostatistical Methods.

3.1 Introduction: Basic Hypotheses.

3.2 Structural Analysis.

3.3 Global Abundance, Variance and Mapping.

4. Case Studies.

4.1 Herring in a Fjord System: Acoustic Survey.

4.2 Young fish Surveys.

4.3 North Sea Herring Acoustic Surveys.

4.4 North Sea Herring Acoustic Survey Trawl Data.

4.5 Code in the Barents Sea in Autumn: Trawl Survey.

4.6 Blue Whiting on the Continental Shelf Slop in Spring: Acoustic Survey.

5. Simulations Studies.

5.1 Robustness of Variography.

5.2 An Investigation into the Effect of Fish Movement on Abundance, Variography and Variance Derived from Surveys.

5.3 Comparison of Some Survey Designs.

6. Recommendations and Guidelines.

6.1 Recommendations on Survey Design.

6.2 Scope of Geostatistical Techniques.

6.3 Guidelines.

Bibliography.

Appendix A Brief Guide to Literature.

Appendix B Review of Geostatistical Computer Survey.

Index.

"... a significant contribution towards better understanding, and hopefully more sustainable management, of our global fish resources."
Fish and Fisheries

J. Rivoirard is at the Centre de Géostatistique de Fontainebleau, Ecole des Mines de Paris, France.

J. Simmonds is at the FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, UK.

K. G. Foote is at the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway; and at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, USA.

P. Fernandes is at the FRS Marine Laboratory, Aberdeen, UK.

N. Bez is at the Centre de Géostatistique de Fontainebleau, Ecole des Mines de Paris, France.

Geostatistics is a branch of spatial statistics that was originally developed for the mining industry. The technique is widely recognised as an important tool for the estimation of the abundance and distribution of natural resources. However, new developments have been required to extend its application to fisheries science, particularly in variogram estimation. This important new title describes the fundamentals of geostatistics in terms more familiar to life-scientists, and uses case studies on seven commercially important fish stocks to demonstrate its application to fisheries survey data. Comprehensive and practical advice is given on how this new method can be used to estimate the abundance (with an appropriate measure of precision) of fish stocks worldwide.

Geostatistics for Estimating Fish Abundance will be of vital interest to fisheries research scientists, marine biologists, oceanographers, marine and fish ecologists, environmental scientists and experts involved in the assessment of natural animal resources.

The book has been developed as a result of studies carried out by a collaborative team of international researchers expert in this area with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, AIR specific RTD programme.