The use of Geographic Information Systems as a Decision Support Tool for Fisheries Management

ACTIVITIES
REGIONAL RESEARCH

Project CGP/REM/057/SPA

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Resources: trawl survey data analysis

Last update: 14/01/2005

The use of Geographic Information Systems
as a Decision Support Tool for fisheries management

During recent years, numerous teams of COPEMED Project area have developed their skills in the use of the Geographic Information Systems for the management of fisheries. Furthermore, the countries involved in the projects so far (namely Morocco, Libya and Tunisia) have already expressed their wish to train scientists in geo-statistics techniques and in the use of Geographic Information Systems.

This activity is hence aimed to train scientists through the development of applications related to the research area they are interested in, with the collaboration of experts having an experience in the use of GIS in the same domain.

This activity is planned in 3 phases:

The first phase (June-November 1998) consisted in the definition of research areas in which scientists could develop GIS applications and the identification of expert researchers whose work could be useful.

During a working group meeting (Málaga, December 1998), the research areas which were suitable for the development of GIS applications and several studies carried out with the aid of a GIS tool were presented by future training beneficiaries and their potential future collaborators. The objective was to lead to proposals of applications to be developed in collaboration between GIS experts and scientists interested in acquiring capabilities to use GIS in their research activities. Training activities were included in the planning of these proposals.

Report of the Working Group
As a follow-up to this working group, COPEMED has published a document in the series "Informes y Estudios COPEMED". It includes a review of the use of GIS as a decision support tool for the management of fisheries with references to communications presented during the working group. This document is presented here in electronic format. The printed version is available on request at COPEMED headquarters.

The project proposals formulated during the working group have lead at that stage to the development of the following applications:

Analysis of demersal trawl surveys data >>

Analysis of artisanal fisheries inventory

Modeling of fishing effort distribution >>

Some training courses have been organized within the framework of the GIS activity, some of them directly related to one of the applications developed:

course	involved countries	related application
GIS in Fisheries Management Marsaxlokk (Malta), March 2001 More information, including course and exercises documentation	Malta (8 students)
The use of Arcview ESRI, Paris, France and Fishview IFREMER, Brest, France, Nov. 1999	Tunisia (2 students)
Arcview GIS and Geostatistic Maison de la Télédétection, Montpellier, France, Oct. 2000	France, Morocco, Tunisia (9 students)	Analysis of demersal trawl surveys data
Use of Relational Database Management Systems (MS Access 97) CRTS, Rabat, Morocco, March 2000 More information, including course and exercises documentation (in french)	Morocco, Tunisia (10 students)	Analysis of demersal trawl surveys data
Charts digitization GEOMATIC, Casablanca, Morocco, June 2000	Morocco (1 student)	Analysis of demersal trawl surveys data
Arcview GIS Alicante, Spain, Sept. 2000	France, Libya, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia (11 students)	Analysis of artisanal fisheries inventory