Fisheries Science

Fisheries Science

Fisheries Science

Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fishery resources so that sustainable exploitation is possible. Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of oceanography, marine biology, marine conservation, ecology, population dynamics, economics and management in an attempt to provide an integrated picture of fisheries.

Continue reading “Fisheries Science”

Plankton Analysis

Plankton Analysis

For many years, Ocean Ecology performed marine plankton identification and enumeration (both phytoplankton and zooplankton) in its laboratory. Samples were collected using either a water bottle or a plankton net. After preservation, the samples were examinined using a microscope. Depending on the particular study being performed, analysis ranged from simply identifying and enumerating harmful algal species to a full analysis of all species present.

Continue reading “Plankton Analysis”

Conservation Planning

Conservation Planning

Conservation planning attempts to identify the best course of action to provide long-term protection for conservation targets identified at specific sites. It builds on an ecological summary of the site by adding the identification of conservation targets, threats (stresses and sources of stress), and recommended protection strategies and actions.

Continue reading “Conservation Planning”

Seafloor Mapping

Seafloor Mapping

Ocean Ecology designed a towfish system to carry out seafloor mapping which used a single-beam sounder transducer mounted in a highly streamlined towfish that was towed at 1.5 m depth from an A-frame at the stern of our ship. This technique reduced the effects of pitch and roll on the transducer output, which can create significant artifacts in hull-mounted systems.

Continue reading “Seafloor Mapping”

Geographic Information Systems

Geographic Information Systems

Geographical information systems (GIS) consist of computer-based methods of recording, analyzing, combining, and displaying geographic information such as shorelines, bathymetry, habitat types, sensitive areas, or any other feature that can be mapped. GIS are especially useful in management planning and resource-use decisions.

Continue reading “Geographic Information Systems”

Habitat Mapping

Habitat Mapping

Habitat Mapping

Much of the research work that Ocean Ecology was involved in could be described as habitat mapping. When habitat mapping is carried out in the marine environment, the product is generally referred to as a “benthic habitat map” – a “spatial representation of physically distinct areas of seafloor that are associated with particular groups of plants and animals.” (Harris and Baker. 2012. Seafloor geomorphology as benthic habitat GeoHAB atlas of seafloor geomorphic features and benthic habitats).

The term benthic refers to anything associated with or occurring on the bottom of a body of water. The animals and plants that live on or in the bottom are known as the benthos.

Continue reading “Habitat Mapping”