Progress in designing and delivering effective fishing industry–science data collection in the UK

Abstract

This study was undertaken to address the increasing need for a strategic approach to industryscience data collections in the face of reducing resources and growing need for evidence in fisheries management. The aim was to evaluate progress in the development of plans and procedures that can be employed to collect, record and use fishing industry knowledge and data in the evidence-base for managing fisheries. This was achieved by reviewing industryled data initiatives already undertaken or ongoing within the United Kingdom to document how these projects have/are incorporating fishing industry data into the process of management decision making; canvassing stakeholder opinion on data gaps and whether these could be filled by data gathered by commercial fishing vessels; establishing what issues might prevent or stimulate commercial fishing vessels in collecting data when they have the opportunity; and describing guidance on a step-by-step process for gathering scientific information such that fishers are empowered to collect the right data, at the right times and in the right format for their fishery. Given recent advances in the collection, interpretation and application of fishery-dependent data, we compare progress made in the UK to other areas of the world. We conclude that there is considerable evidence of a paradigm shift from the conventional practice of scientists asking fishers to provide data for scientific analyses towards full engagement of key stakeholders in data collection.

Factors affecting relative abundance of low-mobility fishing resources: spiny lobster in the Galapagos Marine Reserve

“…Data from different sources, while costly to obtain, can generate different results about the resource biomass and its respective trends. For this reason, having information from different data sources could help to validate results and assist in the estimation of appropriate indicators (Daw, Robinson & Graham, 2011; Cardinale et al, 2014; Mangi et al, 2018).…”

“…Under the assumption that local knowledge of fishers could help to identify and validate fishing effort allocation drivers that support the results generated by the models (Daw, Robinson & Graham, 2011; Van Putten et al., 2012; Mangi et al., 2018), we undertook additional interviews in 2017 with fishers on the three main islands where lobster is captured. A total of 85 interviews were undertaken using semi-structured questionnaires.…”

Applying global best practices for estimating unreported catches in Norwegian fisheries under a discard ban

“…This trust is core to the effectiveness of the programme. Reflecting upon the history of self-sampling programmes in New Zealand (Starr 2010), USA (Johnson and van Densen 2007), Ireland (Hoare et al 2011;Lordan et al 2011), the United Kingdom (Mangi et al 2018) and the Netherlands (Kraan et al 2013), long-term success relies on maintaining commitment and a strong communication channel between fishers and scientists. With membership in a reference fleet comes ownership in the scientific process, improving two-way support and communication between scientists and fishers and promoting transparency, which in turn will benefit other stakeholders, such as fisheries managers.…”

“…These data undergo the same quality assurance procedures as scientific survey data before being added to the database. One risk to data quality in long term self-sampling programmes is sampling fatigue (Hoare et al 2011;Mangi et al 2018). To alleviate this, the Norwegian Reference Fleet offers four-year contracts to vessels with direct monetary payment for sampling in compensation.…”

Spatial distribution of discards in mixed fisheries: species trade-offs, potential spatial avoidance and national contrasts

“…by haul rather than day or trip. The design and implementation of such partnerships is never straightforward (Kraan et al 2013); but stakeholders are becoming more engaged in providing industry data in parallel to data collection programs to fill the gaps (Mangi et al 2018).…”