Tag Archives: estimating fish stocks

New use for A.I.: correctly estimating fish stocks

For the first time, a newly published artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm is allowing researchers to quickly and accurately estimate coastal fish stocks without ever entering the water. This breakthrough could save millions of dollars in annual research and monitoring costs while bringing data access to least-developed countries about the sustainability of their fish stocks. Understanding “fish stocks” – the amount of living fish found in an area’s waters – is critical to understanding the health of our oceans. This is especially true in coastal areas where 90 percent of people working in the fisheries industry live and work. In the wealthiest countries, millions of dollars are spent each year on “stock assessments” – expensive and labor-intensive efforts to get people and boats out into the water to count fish and calculate stocks. >click to read< 09:10

Fed money for fish study a good sign

smastAs part of $6.9 million in federal disaster relief, the National Marine Fisheries Service approved federal funds for an industry-based survey of Gulf of Maine cod, a species whose apparent decimation led to drastic reductions in catch limits and a fisheries disaster declaration. Gov. Charlie Baker and other Massachusetts elected officials have criticized federal fishery regulators for refusing to consider alternative scientific methods for estimating fish stocks. The School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth has developed new methods for assessing sea life. Read the rest here 08:34