SOLOMON ISLANDS NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES & FORESTRY

DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES STUDIES

DEPENDENT AND INDEPENDENT DATA SOURCES IN FISH STOCK ASSESSMENT.

NAME: Beth Marisha Mekimo

ID NUMBER: 700030535
PROGRAM: Bachelor of Fisheries Studies (Year 3)
SEMESTER: Two (2)
COURSE CODE: FIS711Fish Stock Assessment
ASSIGNMENT DESCRIPTION: Identifying Data Sources (Assignment 1)
INSTRUCTOR: Ms Kezyiah Saepioh
Date of Submission: 15/10/2021
DUE ON:.15/10/2021
Stock assessment is a multi-step process that begins with management questions and includes data
collection, model selection, stock assessment modeling, and advice to decision makers on the stock's
sustainability. It is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting fish population information in order
to determine changes in the abundance of fishery stocks in response to fishing and, to the greatest extent
possible, predict future trends of stock abundance (Sparre & Venema, 1992). The stock assessment will
also compute the amount of catch increased, the time required to increase the catch, and the possibility of
sustaining the catch if any of the above-mentioned measures are implemented. Similarly, mesh size
regulation can also be suggested if the stock suffers from growth overfishing due to exploitation of large
numbers of juveniles (Vivekanandan, 2017). These policies above are made possible through data collection
by relevant authorities on catch data, abundance data and biology data. These three data requirements
provide information on the amount of fish removed from a stock by fishing, measure the relative index of
the weight of fish in stock, and growth rates and the natural enviroment respectively. All this respective
information can be gathered from both fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data sources. The data
collected from fishing/fisheries-related activities (fishery dependent data) are from observer log books,
fisher log books, and fish landing ports. Fishery independent data are those collected from activities other
than commercial, artisanal, or recreational fishing, such as research surveys and tagging experiments
(Saepioh, 2021).
In the Pacific, port samplers contribute to the conservation and sustainability of the world’s last sustainable
fisheries-the tuna fishery in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). Some of the port sampling
ports in the WCPO are Tarawa, Majuro, Lae, Noro, Honiara, Pohnpei, Apia, Wewak and others. The tuna
fishery in the Western and Central Pacific Oceans is diverse, ranging from small-scale artisanal operations
in Pacific states' coastal waters to large-scale, industrial purse-seine, pole-and-line, and longline operations
in Pacific states' exclusive economic zones and on the high seas. These fisheries primarily target skipjack
tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis), yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares), bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), and
albacore tuna (T. alalunga). Artisanal and larger-scale commercial fisheries based on the same stocks of
these species can also be found in the Pacific Ocean waters of neighboring south-east Asian countries,
particularly Indonesia and the Philippines and Vietnam (Hampton, 2010). The International Commission
for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) manages the fisheries for Atlantic Bluefin tuna (Thunnus
thynnus) and utilizes tagging experiments as a measure of acquiring data to help manage the stock. This
fishery includes two tuna stocks: the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean stock, which spawns in the
Mediterranean Sea, and the Western Atlantic stock, which spawns in the Gulf of Mexico (McGowan &
Richards, 1989). Because the species is highly migratory, tagging experiments are essential for tracking
their migration patterns. This essay present findings on the technical process of landing at ports and tagging
experiments as well as highlighting the strengths of fishery dependent and independent sources and other
alternative management measures that can be utilized in the absence of data.
Firstly, ports are critical components of the commercial fishing industry. They provide and facilitate
access to essential services and supplies, as well as allowing fishing vessel operators to land and transship
their catch. Landing catches at ports is also important for port sampling on important data such as fish
species caught, port visits (vessel flag of concentration), landings tonnage, and other elements that reflect
a port's activity (Huntington, Nimmo &Macfadyen). Fisheries scientists predict how much tuna there is in
the ocean by analyzing data from many different sources by which port samplers are also directly involved
in the collection of some of that data. Brogan (2002) describes the technical procedure for sampling landed
tuna catch at the WCPO ports. Standardized data sheets are used to ensure that data is accurate and
comparable. Log sheets, unloading forms, port sampling forms, and observer data forms are examples of
these. Log sheet data records fishing activity, catch (by species), and other information such as operation
duration, gear details, and unloading data. The sheets also provide an estimated total unloaded weight of
the catch by species from a vessel trip, an independent estimate of the trip catch (which can be used to
verify log sheet data), and to estimate total catch by a fleet of vessels. Port sampling allows us to monitor
the stock's age structure. Samplers can assign the correct age to the fish once the length is determined. The
age of the fish is determined by counting the lines on one of the otoliths. An otolith is a small bone located
near the brain. The growth rings on the otolith are just like the growth rings (Rodriguez -Mendoza

1|Page
,2006). Even though the sport sampling has a common objective, it is administered via different technical
procedures as per the different fishing operations (longline, pole and line and purse seine) in the WCPO.
In the purse seine industry, port sampling aims to identify wells that contain fish caught with the
same school association, caught in the same association, caught in the same area, and then sample every
five fish from every net unloaded from the well at random or by using cluster sampling. Consequently, port
sampling long-line vessels aims to sample longline sashimi vessels and longline freezer vessels. A sashimi
vessel's port sampler aims to identify and record the length measurements of every fish that is unloaded, as
well as enumerate all other fish that are not presented for unloading. Long liner freezer vessel samplers, on
the other hand, isolate and record the length measurements of 150 randomly sampled fish caught in a
specific time-area stratum. Finally, pole and line port sampling aims to record the total weight of the catch
and, if possible, randomly sample the entire catch prior to sorting. In addition, if sorting occurs, the size
class of the sampled catch should be recorded. A port sampler must have the following equipment/tools:
2B pencils, eraser, caliper, clipboard, relevant set of forms, good working shoes, eraser, and other important
supplies (Brogan, 2002).
Secondly, tagging experiments are used to study fish migration and stock structure identification,
particularly for fish species with complex migration patterns, in order to establish appropriate management
and conservation. In this particular tagging experiment in Ireland, tuna was fished in two different locations
off the coast of Ireland using a trolling squid spreader hare with rod and reel. The fish were caught and
brought onboard the tagging vessel, where they were measured and tagged with PATs in accordance with
specific procedures and administration guidelines (Stokesbury et.al., 2007). The whole process usually lasts
less than one minute. The Pop-up Satellite Archival Tags (PATs) software provides an endpoint location
based on the Doppler shift of the tag radio transmission to the satellite receivers. The software also measured
and archived light, ambient temperature and pressure at 60s intervals. The daily movements of Atlantic
Bluefin tuna were estimated from light-based calculation of longitude using Wildlife Computers WC-GPE
1.01.0005 (Hill and Braun, 2001), and latitude estimates based on satellite derived sea surface temperatures
(Pride & Swift, 1992).
Furthermore, the experiment was conducted in September 2003 and the PATs were retrieved in
March 2004. The results show measurements of temperature and pressure by the satellite tags. Radio pop-
up satellite end-point positions, light and sea surface temperature estimations of geolocation show that the
tagged fish, which were tagged minutes apart off the coast of County Donegal, migrated to the eastern and
western Atlantic Oceans over the next 8 months. Also one of the tagged fish had made its way to the western
Atlantic, while the other was discovered off the southwest coast of Portugal. In 2004, a third fish was tagged
in Donegal. Another third fish tagged in Donegal in 2004 travelled into the Mediterranean Sea and was
caught by a fishing vessel southeast of Malta in 2005 guidelines (Stokesbury et.al., 2007). The above
migration results from the PATs show the migration patterns of tuna on European foraging grounds and
migrating eastern and western Atlantic waters for breeding or in search of food.
Thirdly, even though the data gathered from fishery dependent and fishery dependent sources are
used to provide useful scientific evidence, the two sources mentioned above have limitations. Data from
this data source lacks details such as fishing ground location, species identification (often categorized to a
higher taxonomic level), and catch misreporting (Pennino et.al.,2016). Fishery independent surveys on the
other hand rely on expensive surveys that are carried out in short period of time. Survey data are considered
to be of higher quality because sampling and collection are scientifically designed and standardized.
However, it has limited time and space coverage in relation to the seasonal cycle and location of the target
species (Board, 2000). Moreover, in developing countries like Solomon Islands collection of data from
fishery independent sources is quite costly and require technical expertise (i.e. tuna tagging). Apart from
those weaknesses and strengths, there are case studies which show strengths and failures of stock
assessment to stock recovery. Studies indicate the success or failure of stock assessment in stock recovery
was influenced by the degree of depletion of the stock, the recovery duration, the homogeneity of the
fisheries, stability of markets and the stability of future allocations. These above factors were proven greatly
influence the stock recovery of North Atlantic swordfish, Western Atlantic Bluefin tuna and Gulf of Mexico

2|Page
King Mackerel (Power, 2003). This will also be the same for Solomon Islands tuna fisheries since two of
the species above are highly migratory species like tuna.
Lastly, data collection is a very expensive practice which requires large financial allocations and
technical expertise, which can be very challenging for developed and underdeveloped countries' fisheries
management. In the absence of adequate data for sound management policies, certain alternative options
must be implemented to address fisheries management. The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management
(EAFM) is one of the possible management measures in the absence of data. EAFM involves protecting
and conserving ecosystems while providing food and income and livelihoods from fisheries in a sustainable
manner (WWF, 2011). EAFM has seven guiding principles, including good governance, appropriate scale,
increased participation, multiple objectives, cooperation and coordination, adaptive management, and a
precautionary approach. The adaptive management and precautionary approach are the two principles that
can aid in fisheries management in the absence of data. The precautionary approach (PA) outlines cost-
effective measures to deal with uncertainty or risk without delaying action because of lack of full
information and being risk-aware. Adaptive management, on the other hand, is the systematic process of
continually improving management by learning from the outcomes of the previous management objectives
and actions (Link, 2010). The EAFM emphasized that in the absence of data, the environment in which the
fish is situated can be managed since all the ecological functions are interrelated, that is, the interrelation
of the fish with the environment. Therefore, if the interconnectivity of the fish and its environment is
maintained, management can be attained in this way.
In summary, fish stock assessment involves the use of mathematical and statistical quantitative data
to investigate the reaction of fish stock to certain management measures and even predict the stock status.
As such, data must be collected so that it can be analyzed and integrated to give a scenario of what the stock
is like. Fishing related activities provide details of fishing activities which are recorded in observer
logbooks, fishing logbooks, and other standardized recording materials, and even port sampling of landed
catch. In addition, there are other data sources like tuna tagging, research surveys, and acoustic surveys,
and such sources are called "fishery independent data sources." Port sampling of landed catch and
transshipments provides managers with information about the age and stock structure. Tagging experiments
as an independent data source, on the other hand, provide managers with details of the fish spawning
grounds, migration patterns, and feeding habitats. In the absence of data, the use of the Ecosystem Approach
to Fisheries Management can be adapted to manage the ecosystem with the assumption that once the
ecosystem is healthy, all the organisms that are interconnected with that ecosystem will be as well.
Generally, the precautionary approach should be the center of all activities on the system in the absence of
adequate data.

3|Page
 References
Board, O. S., & National Research Council. (2000). Improving the collection, management, and use of
marine fisheries data. National Academies Press.

Brogan, D. (2002). Port Sampling Manual. Noumea, New Caledonia. ISBN 982-203-887-9. Retrieved
from: https://spccfpstore1.blob.core.windows.net/digitallibrary-docs/files

Hampton, J. (2010). Tuna fisheries status and management in the western and central Pacific
Ocean. Oceanic Fisheries Programme. New Caledonia, 23.

Hill, R. D., & Braun, M. (2001). Geolocation by light level—The next step: Latitude. Electronic Tagging
and Tracking in Marine Fisheries, ed. by J. Sibert and J. Nielsen. Boston, Kluwer, 315, 330.

Huntington, T., Nimmo, F., & Macfadyen, G. (2015). Fish landings at the world’s commercial fishing
ports. Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics, 2(1), 4.

Link, J. (2010). Ecosystem-based fisheries management: confronting tradeoffs. Cambridge University

Press.

McGowan, M. F., & Richards, W. J. (1989). Bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, larvae in the Gulf Stream off
the Southeastern United States: satellite and shipboard observations of their environment. Fishery
Bulletin, 87(3), 615-631.

Pennino, M. G., Conesa, D., Lopez-Quilez, A., Munoz, F., Fernández, A., & Bellido, J. M. (2016). Fishery-
dependent and-independent data lead to consistent estimations of essential habitats. ICES Journal of Marine
Science, 73(9), 2302-2310.

Pride, I. G., & Swift, S. M. (1992). Wildlife telemetry: remote monitoring and tracking animals. Ellis
Horwood.

Powers, J. E. (2003). Principles and realities for successful fish stock recovery-a review of some successes
and failures. ICES Document CM.

Rodríguez-Mendoza, R. P. (2006). Otoliths and their applications in fishery science. Croatian Journal of
Fisheries: Ribarstvo, 64(3), 89-102.

Saepioh, K S. (2021). Fish Stock Assessment. Module 2 Session 1 Notes, Department of Fisheries Studies,
Solomon Islands National University, Ranadi Campus, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
Sparre, P., & Venema, C. S. (1992). Introduction to tropical fish stock assessement Part. 1 Manual (No.
Mi 306/2 Rev. 1). FAO,
Stokesbury, M. J., Cosgrove, R., Boustany, A., Browne, D., Teo, S. L., O’Dor, R. K., & Block, B. A. (2007).
Results of satellite tagging of Atlantic bluefin tuna, Thunnus thynnus, off the coast of Ireland.
In Developments in Fish Telemetry (pp. 91-97). Springer, Dordrecht.

Vivekanandan, E. (2017). Concept and objectives of stock assessment. Retrieved from:

http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/12171/

4|Page
WWF. (2011). Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). National Oceanic Atmospheric
Administration(NOAA). Retrieved from:
http://d2ouvy59p0dg6k.cloudfront.net/downloads/eafm_revised.pdf

5|Page