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Design and Implementation of EcoGIS to Support Fisheries Science and Management

Design and Implementation of EcoGIS to Support Fisheries Science and Management


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Objectives

The EcoGIS project is developing a set of GIS tools to better enable both fisheries scientists and managers to adopt ecosystem approaches to fisheries management. EcoGIS is a collaborative effort between NOS, NMFS, and four regional Fishery Management Councils. Specific objectives include:

  1. Define the priority needs of fishery managers and scientists as they adopt ecosystem approaches to management;
  2. Develop and GIS tools that address priority management and science needs;
  3. Demonstrate how the tools can be used to answer specific questions;
  4. Assist the development of Ecosystem Pilot Projects by Fishery Management Councils;
  5. Build a collaborative team from NOS, NMFS, and Fishery Management Councils; and,
  6. Define additional management questions and scientific hypotheses which can be addressed as a blueprint for future development.

Project Summary

The EcoGIS project was launched in September 2004 to develop a custom suite of GIS tools to use with diverse marine datasets that will tackle some of the most pressing issues in fisheries management. This project is unique in both its broad collaborative nature and spatial extent, encompassing the marine and coastal environment from the Gulf of Maine to the Gulf of Mexico . EcoGIS is a component of the Ecosystem Pilot Projects funded by Congress in 2004, and being developed by the New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils.

The primary goal of EcoGIS is to develop custom GIS tools to aid fisheries managers and scientists in moving towards a spatially and temporally explicit ecosystem approach to management of living resources. The need for these types of tools was highlighted in a September 2004 workshop in Charleston, SC, involving 48 managers and scientists from NOAA Fisheries, NOAA National Ocean Service; NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center; Fishery Management Councils of New England, Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic and Pacific regions, Duke University, and The Nature Conservancy. Based on the issues identified by the Workshop, the EcoGIS Team and Steering Committee have identified four topic areas to guide the development of prototype GIS tools:

  1. Area Characterization: Within a selected area, what are the physical parameters (e.g. sediment type), and biological parameters (e.g. species abundance), and regulatory framework?
  2. Fishing Effort Analysis: Where, when, and how do fisheries operate within a given area? How have fisheries been impacted as a result of regulatory changes?
  3. Habitat Interactions: What types and amount of habitats have been fished using bottom-tending gear?
  4. Bycatch Analysis: What are the trends in bycatch among different fisheries, geographic areas, time periods, depth ranges, and habitat types?

ESRI's ArcGIS is the central platform in the development of the project. The GIS needs of the end users range from simple map-based queries to complex ecosystem modeling. This functionality will consist of a custom toolbar containing a toolset designed and developed using visual basic and model builder. The end product will enable a simplified means to query data and create models of complex multi-dimensional datasets and a visualization of results that will help communicate information to support decision makers.

The EcoGIS prototype will focus on a few data-rich locations, including areas in the Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico, and is due for completion in 2006. The results of this initial project will serve as the "blueprint" on how best to advance the use of spatial technologies in support of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management.

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Time Frame

September 2004 - September 2006

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