Advances In Geographic Information Systems And Remote Sensing For Fisheries And Aquaculture

The publication is an easy-to-understand publication that emphasizes the fundamental skills and processes associated with geographic information systems (GIS) and remote sensing. The first chapter initially puts the array of spatially related problems into perspective and discusses the earlier applications of GIS and remote sensing. Chapters, 2, 3 and 4 outline what are considered to be the basics on which GIS can function, i.e. hardware and software; spatial data; and how GIS systems themselves are best implemented. Chapter 5 looks at preparing the data for GIS use and Chapter 6 explores what remote sensing consists of and the main purposes for its use. Chapter 7 discusses the functional tools and techniques offered by typical GIS software packages. Chapters 8, 9 and 10 examine respectively, the current issues and status, including extensive case studies, of the application of GIS and remote sensing to aquaculture, to inland fisheries and to marine fisheries.

The objective of this document is to illustrate the ways in which Geographical Information Systems (GIS), remote sensing and mapping can play a role in the development and management of marine aquaculture. The perspective is global. The approach is to employ example applications that have been aimed at resolving many of the important issues in marine aquaculture. The underlying purpose is to stimulate the interest of individuals in the government, industry and educational sectors of marine aquaculture to make more effective use of these tools. A brief introduction to spatial tools and their use in the marine fisheries sector precedes the example applications. The most recent applications have been selected to be indicative of the state of the art, allowing readers to make their own assessments of the benefits and limitations of use of these tools in their own disciplines. Also published in Chinese and Spanish.

Many fishery biologists and policy makers involved in inland fisheries management and planning are unaware of GIS technology and its potential for fisheries planning and management. The FAO Inland Water Resources and Aquaculture Service (FIRI) has been active for the last 19 years in promoting the use of GIS and remote sensing in fisheries and aquaculture. Promotional activities have been carried out through training, projects, field missions, and oral presentations and publications. However, a manual to use along with GIS software for the fisheries biologists in the field explaining GIS in a way that is understandable to non-GIS users had not been produced until now. This manual was written to overcome this knowledge-gap, it is a "do-it-yourself" manual giving a short introduction to GIS software and its applications in fishery science. The overall objective of this manual is to encourage fishery managers to use this tool (GIS) to foster the sustainable use of natural resources. There are five main sections in the manual: GIS concepts and functions and key tools provided by ArcView 3.x, Geographic coordinate system and map projections, Raster data and analysis, Regression analysis, and Application case studies. All sections are accompanied by exercises that have been designed to illustrate key applications of GIS in inland and marine fisheries management. Also, a custom-designed ArcView grid regression extension is included to show the integration of GIS with surplus production models.

Topics: 1) Spatially variable production functions controlling aquaculture and inland fisheries; 2) Obtaining data for spatial decisions; 3) Remote sensing as a data source; 4) Traditional mapping as an aid to spatial decision-making; 5) The functioning and uses of geographic information systems; 6) Some case studies showing applications of remote sensing and geographical information systems to aquaculture and inland fisheries.

The late 20th century has witnessed increasing crises in the world's marine fisheries. A causal analysis of these reveals that a common element are various manifestations of spatial inequity. This most frequently includes the inequity of access rights to the resource, but factors such as variations in resource depletion, spatio-temporal variations in stock recruitment, the imposition of regulatory zoning, destruction of marine ecosystems and the siting of mariculture facilities are other examples. To resolve some of these problems, management practices must be improved. As has been shown in other fields where spatially related problems occur, there is now a promising tool, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), which, combined with other analytical tools and models, could allow for improved spatial management. GIS are basically integrated computer based systems which allow for the input of digital geo-referenced data to produce maps plus other textual, graphical and tabular output. The essential usefulness of GIS however, lies in its ability to manipulate data in a large number of ways and to perform various analytical functions so as to produce output which makes for more efficient decision making.As with many computer based systems, the key to GIS success lies in the acquisition of suitable data. The various means by which both primary and secondary data can be located, gathered, accessed and stored are described.

Summarizes a growing body of information on applications of geographic information systems (GIS) in fisheries research and management.

The ecosystem approach to aquaculture provides the conceptual guideline to spatial planning and management. This publication describes the three major steps in spatial planning and management, namely, zoning, site selection and design of an aquaculture management area, or AMA. The rationale for and objectives of each step, the ways (methodologies) to implement it, and the means (tools) that are available to enable a methodology are described in a stepwise fashion. Recommendations to practitioner s and policy-makers are provided. A separate policy brief accompanies this paper. The benefits from spatial planning and management are numerous and include higher productivity and returns for investors, and more effective mitigation of environmental, economic and social risks, the details of which are provided in this paper. This publication is organized in two parts. Part one is the “Guidance”; it is the main body of the document and describes the processes and steps for spatial planning, incl uding aquaculture zoning, site selection and area management. Part two of the publication includes six annexes that present key topics, including: (i) binding and non-legally binding international instruments, which set the context for sustainable national aquaculture; (ii) biosecurity zoning; (iii) aquaculture certification and zonal management; (iv) an overview of key tools and models that can be used to facilitate and inform the spatial planning process; (v) case studies from ten countries – Brazil, Chile, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Oman, the Philippines, Turkey, Uganda and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; and (vi) a workshop report. The country case studies illustrate key aspects of the implementation of spatial planning and management at the national level, but mostly within local contexts.