Digital innovation supports data gathering for better fisheries management
Factsheet
Description
The resource “Digital innovation supports data gathering for better fisheries management” is designed to strengthen the collection, standardisation and use of fisheries data for effective management decisions. Effective fisheries management involves decisions about the utilization of fish stocks, species selection, fishing locations, seasons, and catch limits while balancing social and economic gains with the preservation of marine ecosystems. The resource explains that access to reliable and up-to-date data is critical and presents FAO-developed tools and platforms that supply the data needed to facilitate the effective management of fisheries at national, regional and global levels.
Technology
The resource presents three core digital tools. The AdriaMed Trawl Survey Information System (ATrIS) is a digital database platform designed to store, organize, retrieve and process data on the abundance and spatial distribution of demersal species collected through bottom trawl surveys. Calipseo is a web-based application that integrates diverse data sources and applies standard classifications and methodologies to generate fisheries statistics for policymaking and reporting. The Fisheries Performance Assessment Toolkit (FPAT) is a simulation-based digital assessment tool where fishery data are uploaded into an application that models different management interventions and supports trade-off analysis for data-limited fisheries.
Target
The resource and the tools highlighted primarily target public sector fisheries authorities, research institutions, fisheries scientists and farm advisors involved in stock assessment and fisheries governance. The tools also support private sector stakeholders and advisory services engaged in fisheries monitoring, policy formulation and evidence-based decision-making across national and regional fisheries systems.
Business model
The document is an open-access digital resource and is made available fully free of charge for public sector institutions, researchers and fisheries stakeholders. The resource can be downloaded free of charge for interested actors and online visitors.
Impact
The AdriaMed Trawl Survey Information System is used by over 17 research institutions in the Mediterranean region and has become the de facto reference data management tool for several Mediterranean countries. The Fisheries Performance Assessment Toolkit was successfully piloted in 10 fisheries over a five-year period with researchers, fishers, fish workers, the private sector and decision-makers in Cabo Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, Ecuador, Indonesia and Senegal. As of June 2024, FAO mobile data collection platforms are fully operational in Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, are being piloted in Bangladesh, Grenada and Lebanon, and are in initial implementation stages in Guyana, with plans for deployment in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Dominica and Egypt.
Partners
FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI)
Four Betters
Better environment
Better life
Better production
