Pathways toward modernizing fisheries-independent surveys
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: Fisheries-independent survey(s) (FIS(s)) are conducted worldwide to study the status of marine populations and ecosystems and provide consistent time-series data for use in stock assessments, ecosystem assessments, ecological studies, and forecasting. These time series allow researchers to track changes in populations and ecosystem responses to environmental variation over time and can be used to reveal trends and patterns that single observations cannot capture. However, the consistency and continuity of a FIS time series may be impacted by natural forces (e.g. changes in environment, stock distribution, and weather) or anthropogenic actions (e.g. funding, vessel availability, new sampling objectives, new technology, and reduction of sampling area due to spatial closures or restrictions). These issues, and others, are increasingly common due to changes in marine ecosystems, increased human activities in and around FIS areas, and the evolution of FIS technologies and statistical methods. We review drivers that are triggering changes in FISs and propose pathways for adapting existing FISs to these changes while ensuring consistency in the information provided by FIS time series. We show that there is potential for advanced technologies (e.g. autonomous vehicles, remotely operated vehicles, and eDNA) to improve information collected from traditional FIS methods (e.g. trawls, longlines, acoustics, and pots). The modernization of FISs is best achieved through incremental incorporation and calibration of new technologies to existing FIS designs and operations, rather than a wholesale replacement of existing methods that would disrupt the historical baseline of a time series. These transitions of FISs in a changing world can be aided by developing methods to collect FIS data using multiple types of equipment and/or from multiple FIS platforms.
Source: ICES Journal of Marine Science
Authors: Stan Kotwicki, Richard L O’Driscoll, Nathan M Bacheler, Diana Baetscher, Lewis A K Barnett, Derek G Bolser, Lyle L Britt, David A Demer, Catherine Foley, Edward A Laman, Andrew Lipsky, Patrick Malecha, Emily H Markowitz, Cecilia A O’Leary, Kotaro Ono, Zack S Oyafuso, Pierre Petitgas, Patrick H Ressler, Sean K Rohan, Margaret C Siple, Paul Spencer, Duane E Stevenson, James T Thorson
Institutions: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Earth Sciences New Zealand, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Ifremer
Language: English
Subfield: Aquatic Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Life below water
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $3,686
OpenAlex ID: W7168842691