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FISH EXPO/Workboat Atlantic, Room 557 Rhode Island Convention Center, Providence Draft Marine GIS Conference Agenda and Abstracts, 10/10/2000 09:00 Conference Keynote Speaker - Geoff
Meaden THE SPATIAL MANAGEMENT OF FISHERIES IN AN ELECTRONIC AGE: CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS Dwindling fish stocks in many areas are imposing
urgent obligations on management authorities
to deliver solutions. Since many of the problems related to fisheries
are manifest in the spatial domain, then it
is argued that GIS offers a serious management
solution. However, whilst GIS has proven itself in a number of terrestrial
fields, the challenges to its use in the marine milieu are significant.
These challenges are associated
with the 3 or 4D nature of an environment that is variably
mobile, including the objects within it, and
with a human organisational environment that
is small scale, fragmented, relatively disorganised and lacking in necessary
resources. However, progress in establishing
fisheries GIS's is being made, largely in
the functioning areas of data acquisition, spatio-temporal modelling and
visualisation. These areas of progress
are discussed in some detail. When combined with general
GIS developments, then the prospects for future utilisation of this aid
to decision making are shown to
be promising, at least in a range of important fishery 09:30 Marine GIS Technology Overview - Larry A. Mayer
NEW ADVANCES IN OCEAN MAPPING OFFER BOTH CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Over the past few decades, revolutionary changes have taken place in our ability to map and visualize the ocean floor. At the core of these new technologies is the development of multibeam sonar systems, which use beam-forming techniques to ensonify large swaths of the seafloor while producing high resolution (both lateral and vertical) bathymetry and seafloor imagery (from acoustic backscatter). When collected in slightly overlapping swaths, multibeam sonars can produce a sonar data set that represents near 100 percent acoustic coverage of the seafloor, resulting in a radically different representation of the seafloor than that provided by traditional single beam echo sounders. While this confluence of technologies has indeed revolutionized our
ability to map the seafloor, the revolution has come with a high
price in terms of data density and volume. Shallow water multibeam
sonars and their ancillary systems can produce gigabytes of data per
hour presenting fundamental challenges to us in terms of interaction,
integration and interpretation. To help meet these challenges,
we have chosen to take advantage of the ultimate signal processor
(the human brain) and the rapidly advancing capabilities in computer hardware
and scientific visualization techniques. We have taken an approach
that allows for the interactive exploration of very large data
sets in a natural, intuitive yet quantitative fashion. Through artificial
sun-illumination, shading, and 3-D rendering, we can easily explore massive
digital bathymetric data sets (DTM's) in the form of a natural
looking and easily interpretable landscape. Color can be used
to represent depth or other parameters (like backscatter, gravity
10:00 coffee break 10:30 session one - Technology and Applications (Cliff Goudey, session chair) 10:30 Mike Pittman, Captain, Deep Sea Trawlers, Lunenburg, Canada USING HIGH RESOLUTION BATHYMETRY TO REDUCE BOTTOM USAGE AND BYCATCH
The Canadian offshore scallop industry is applying multibeam and satellite tracking technologies to improve the management of our fishery, increase fishing efficiency and ensure the long-term sustainability of the scallop resource. The offshore scallop industry has been the driving force of technological change in the fishery and a philosophical shift has occurred among the fishermen, who instead of hunting for the prize are now able to cultivate and gather the resource. Several years ago, at the industry's request all vessels were equipped with satellite tracking and communications systems. Black boxes on every vessel, required as a condition of license, gave us greater power to manage the fishing fleet, allowed for greater accuracy and reliability of data collection, and verification of regulatory compliance. Black boxes played a major role in increasing the credibility of fishermen's' observations and began to dispel the image long-held by government scientists that fishermen were out to cheat the system. Industry then embarked on a bottom mapping initiative, in which Clearwater installed a multibeam sonar system on one of our vessels in order to map scallop habitat. By integrating multibeam, bathymetry and backscatter information with the satellite tracking systems and combining this information with the results of detailed, industry-funded stock assessment surveys we now have the capability to micro-manage the scallop beds. The fleet is able to target fishing effort, resulting in a 70% reduction in both bottom usage and bycatch. "Seeing" the bottom has improved vessel operating efficiency resulting in better catch rates, lower fuel consumption and reduced gear costs. A resource that was once on the edge of commercial extinction has been brought back to a healthy stock level. The original incentive for these industry-driven changes was clearly profit, however the increases in scallop biomass have shown fishermen, companies, and government that conservation and long-term thinking is rewarded. New scallop grounds are being discovered, mapped and surveyed and rolling quotas in these new areas have been established. These advances are in part made possible because of industry-funded port sampling and dockside monitoring programs, in which independent DFO certified weighmasters monitor all landings and help to provide more information from the fishery than ever before. Industry has realized great returns on our investment. For example, Clearwater, because of the stable, healthy outlook for the resource, is now able to invest in a muti-million dollar fleet renewal program in order to provide a state-of-the-art, safe working environment for our crews. The investment made by industry and the application of new technology in the management of the Canadian offshore scallop fishery truly represents a win-win situation in which both the environment and our business are benefiting. It is our opinion that there is no room in the fishery of the future for any fisherman, company or government organization that does not put the health of the ecosystem first and harvesting it’s Bounty second. 10:45 Paul Rago, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, Woods Hole, Massachusetts SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF THE NORTHEAST US SCALLOP FISHERY: THE UTILITY
OF DATA All full-time fishing vessels in the US scallop fleet must carry
a 11:00 Amos Barkai, OLRAC CC, 2 Titus Way Constantia 7806,
Cape Town, South Africa 27(0)21 7120929 or 758577 Fax 27 21
7131647 mobile: 082-808-2276 OLFISH-TRAWL, AN ELECTRONIC LOGBOOK FOR CAPTURING, STORING AND
SUMMARIZING One of the most frustrating issues in fisheries management is the
high level of 11:15 Peter J. Auster, Science Director, National Undersea
Research Center DETERMINING HABITAT FROM BOTTOM REMOTE SENSED SONAR SURVEYS Defining the habitats of fishes and associated fauna on outer continental shelves is problematic given the paucity of data on the actual types and distributions of seafloor habitats. However many regions have good data on the distributions of fishes from resource surveys or commercial catches because of their economic importance. Fish distribution data (species or assemblages) has been used as a proxy for the distribution of habitats to develop precautionary conservation strategies for habitat protection (e.g., marine protected areas, fishing gear restrictions). In this study we assessed the relationships between the distri- butions of fish assemblages and species distributions derived from trawl survey data with the spatial distribution of sediment types (acoustic reflectance) derived from USGS multibeam sonar surveys in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Fish assemblages were correlated with sonar reflectance values but all assemblages did not occur in significantly different sediment types. This suggests that use of assemblage distributions as proxies for habitats should include the caveat that a greater number of assemblages within an area could indicate a greater range of habitat types. Single species distributions showed frequency- dependent relationships with reflectance values. That is, tows with low abundances had wide variations in reflectance values while high abundance tows had narrower ranges indicating habitat affinities. These results suggest that species distributions based on trawl survey data can be used as proxies for the distribution of seafloor habitats. Species with known habitat associations can be used to infer habitat requirements of co-occuring species and can be used to identify a range of habitat types. 11:30 Richard Arnold, THISTLE Marine Systems, Maine Industry-based Data Collection and Analysis for American Lobster Fishery Data collection in the lobster industry historically has been the purview of fisheries management researchers. Lobstermen have participated in studies, understanding that study results directly affect their ability to fish. However, existing sampling efforts are limited and skewed. They offer little benefit to lobstermen and in fact can interfere with daily operations by slowing down the harvesting effort. Yet with no way to cheaply and conveniently capture large samplings of harvest data, researchers make their estimates, management agencies formulate their policies and fishermen abide by the regulations. Thistle Marine believes that harvest data can be conveniently captured and can be useful to both fisherman and researcher. We have developed a product, incorporating CARIS' GIS and Spatial Fusion tool suites, that allows lobstermen to easily capture harvest data. Data is returned as reports that can be used by fishermen to improve productivity and by researchers to make more accurate fishery assessments. Research agencies can inexpensively deploy this product on a wide-scale basis. Participating lobstermen not only can easily record data, but also benefit from the information in the resulting harvest reports. 11:45 Kevin St. Martin, DOC/NOAA/NMFS Northeast Fisheries
Science Center,
MAPPING THE SPATIAL PRACTICES OF FISHERMEN AND ITS IMPLICATION FOR MANAGEMENT GIS is an emerging technology in fisheries management, particularly as management becomes more focused on areas and ecosystems rather than strictly numeric approaches. GIS is important to inventory, query, and model fisheries resources; and its use as a tool for environmental decision making shows enormous potential. In addition to a spatialized resource assessment, however, GIS can be used to map the domains of fishing communities; it can be used to reveal the spatial patterns of groups of fishermen and their affinities to particular locations. This information is vital to more localized approaches to fisheries management. Mapping fishermen’s spatial practices is possible with existing NMFS data as the logbook data for the sea scallop fishery demonstrates. The data reveals regions of sea scallop production that map to particular communities of resource users. This linking of community and resource via GIS might serve to facilitate the use of fishermen’s local environmental knowledge for biological assessment, cooperation amongst groups of fishermen as stakeholders of a limited resource, compliance to regulations, and, more generally, greater community participation in fisheries management. 12:00 Noon break 1:00 Panel Discussion - CONVERGENCE OF SCIENCE AND FISHING EXPERTISE
Panel - Peter Auster, NOAA, Larry Mayer, UNH, Mike
Pittman, CFFI, 3pm break 3:30 - group breakout - techniques - electronic mapping -
Day 2 - Friday, 13 October 2000 8:30 Session- TECHNIQUES AND DATA RESOURCES (Diane Carle, session chair) 08:30 Paul Rooney, John Kozimor - Environmental Systems
Research Institute,
NEW GIS TOOLS AND DATA MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FROM THE GIS INDUSTRY: The ESRI Perspective GIS has proven to be a valuable tool for storing, analyzing, and displaying data elements critical to the assessment and management of coastal and marine resources. This presentation will feature an overview of Geographic Information System Technologies offered by ESRI and reference several examples of organizations currently using ESRI technology for coastal and marine resource management. 08:45 Peggy L. Myre, Senior Scientist, EVS Environment Consultants,
200 West Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98119
(206) 217-9337 fax (206) 217-9343 MASSACHUSETTS OCEAN RESOURCES INFORMATION SYSTEM (MORIS)-
Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management has embarked on a long-term project to develop the Massachusetts Ocean Resource Information System (MORIS). MORIS will be a comprehensive database and GIS extention providing access to the broad range of information necessary to carry out the CZM mission. The first phases of MORIS project began this year and focuses on information and tools useful for screening for potential aquaculture sites. CZM has contracted EVS Environment Consultants to complete the major tasks in Phase One, including data mining and GIS application development. CZM has also teamed with NOAA’s Coastal Services Center (CSC), Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) and Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to complete additional phases of the project including additional data development. New data layers include a georegulation data layer, benthic mapping, shellfish suitability mapping and aquaculture lease area mapping. Future phases of the project will develop new water quality data layers for Massachusetts and enhance the application’s water quality mapping capabilities. 09:00 Brian Andrews, Science Applications International Corporation
CURRENT MARINE GIS APPLICATIONS IN MARINE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT Marine mapping technologies are enabling marine scientists to investigate
the oceans at increasing scale and resolution. Technologies such
as multibeam and sidescan sonar, and sub-bottom profiling generate
massive amounts of data in various formats. Marine GISs facilitate
spatial analysis on these complex data sets and are able provide easy
data access and decision support to a wide range of marine industry
professionals from scientist to fisherman. This presentation
highlights three recent marine surveys and GIS applications in coastal
New England waters and illustrates the role they play in the overall project
goals. 09:15 Peter August, Rhode Island GIS SPATIAL DATA RESOURCES FOR THE COASTAL AND NEAR SHORE WATERS OFF RHODE ISLAND The Rhode Island Geographic Information System (RIGIS) and other
web-based sources geospatial data in Rhode Island provide access
to a diversity of data resources that span local to global scales.
In this presentation, I will review the following data sources
relevant to coastal and marine applications: 09:30 Chris Brehme, GIS Manager, Ben Neal, Marine Resources
Outreach Coordinator HERRING SPAWNING ASSESSMENT ALONG THE EASTERN MAINE COAST Our assessment of Atlantic Herring spawning along the downeast coast
of In Maine's waters, lobster traps provide an excellent sampling tool
for 09:45 Bill Danforth, US Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field
Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543 DEVELOPING DIGITAL GIS PUBLICATIONS AND TECHNIQUES AT SEA Over the past few years, the USGS Woods Hole Field Center Sea Floor Mapping Group (SFMG) has standardized and expanded the use of GIS software at sea. We routinely mosaic all collected sidescan sonar, seismic reflection and multibeam echo sounding data in near real-time and then incorporate these data into GIS coverages on board the ship. These techniques now allow team scientists to plan sampling, video and mooring site selection strategies based on the on-going collection of the remotely sensed data while in the field. This helps to reduce cruise/ processing costs and facilitates publishing project results rapidly. The use of ESRI’s ArcView software and the MapPublisher plug-in to Adobe Illustrator, in addition to CorelDraw and other software, allow SMFG personnel to create and incorporate ArcView projects into Illustrator layouts for publication while at sea. 10:00 coffee break 10:30 Session - Data Sharing (Jeff Donze, session chair) 10:30 Daniel Martin, Senior Consultant: Technology Planning
& Management Corp. DISTRIBUTED HYDROGRAPHIC SPATIAL DATA SERVERS The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Ocean Service’s (NOS) archive of hydrographic data is a primary resource for many whom work in coastal and marine areas both inside and outside of NOAA. This data is critical to meeting both strategic goals of “Safe Navigation” and “Sustained Healthy Coast”. There are several significant technical hurdles to accessing and working with the data in a digital format that can now be resolved using existing and advanced technologies with the Internet. The large file sizes (>100 million soundings), the distributed organization of the data, and the security needed to maintain data integrity all contribute to the special needs of this project. To implement these technologies NOS has begun by developing a prototype in collaboration with several partners. The result of this project should be better development and analysis tools, a migration path from file archives to a database, an integration plan to include non-NOS data, and a distribution model that incorporates multiple data servers across the Internet into a unified structure. 10:45 Seth Barber, Maine Dept of Marine Resources, GULF OF MAINE ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION EXCHANGE INITIATIVE, GOMINFOEX
- Terms of Reference VISION: To maximize the benefits to coastal communities of the Gulf
of Maine WHY: The Gulf of Maine, including Georges Bank, forms a somewhat closed coastal ecosystem with many internal linkages among its living and non-living resources. These resources form the basis of a large number of social and economic benefits to the residents in the surrounding coastal lands. To maximize these benefits it is essential that all residents have access to the appropriate environmental information on which to base their actions, planning and decisions. WHO: The residents of the Gulf of Maine are represented by a number of governments, agencies and organizations. These include federal, state and provincial governments, environmental non-governmental institutes and agencies, university researchers, K-12 educators and commercial interests that include fishers and aquaculturalists. Together these groups have great interest and expertise in the collection, management, exchange and communication of environmental information. To maximize the benefits of these activities, a cooperative initiative, building on existing and independent activities, is believed to provide the best opportunity to achieve the Vision. WHAT: An information exchange that promotes the shared usage of environmental information among the various agencies, communities and individuals with an interest in ensuring long-term sustainable benefits from our coastal resources. Environmental is to be interpreted in the broadest sense to include information on fisheries, aquaculture, habitat, atmosphere, etc. WHERE: This initiative addresses the Gulf of Maine watershed from the headwaters to the continental slope with particular interest in coastal lands, waters and air. The information exchange builds on a distributed system where information is managed at various sites throughout Canada and the United States as deemed appropriate for its efficient management and dissemination. It builds on the existing, and developed capacities, that exist in the region's governmental, non-governmental and research institutes and organisational structures that support community groups and commercial interests. WHEN: This initiative will build incrementally on the broad base of activities presently underway for information management within the Gulf of Maine. It will evolve rapidly in the initial year (circa. 1999) as the focus is developed and a consensus on its goal and required actions is achieved. Regular review of the progress is essential to ensure proper direction. A major review will be required every three years; the first at the end of 2001. It is expected that this review will be most effective if it takes the form of an open workshop/conference to review progress and determine support for continued work. Ultimate success will be the continued existence of a useful exchange of information in the year 2020 - a system to outlive existing technologies and the careers of the originating individuals. HOW: Development will be through a consortium of interested partners. It will strengthen natural alliances and mutual interests by undertaking work in smaller appropriate groupings, two or more agencies. Participants will accept responsibility for coordinating their work by on-going interaction and communication within the consortium of partners. An Action Committee, with broad, open representation from contributors, will facilitate and promote this communication and accept responsibility for appropriate planning and annual reporting to all partners. A detailed work plan will be prepared and reviewed annually to track progress and promot cooperation. This work plan will be made publicly available to all. 11:00 Kevin Joy, National Undersea Research Program, Universtity of Connecticut, Groton MAPPING DATA ON THE WEB, GIS INTEGRATION IN A DATA DRIVEN WEB SITE As Internet technologies continue to advance, the incorporation of
GIS At the National Undersea Research Center for the North Atlantic &
Great 11:15 John D. Evans, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
617-258-0803 THE OPENGIS CONSORTIUM'S INTEROPERABLE WEB MAPPING SERVICES Online mapping services offer new ways of handling geographic information,
11:30 Richard Gregory Allen, Laser Plot Inc., 48 Sword St. Suite 3, Auburn, MA 01501 Telephone: 508-757-2831 1-800-888-0888 FAX: 508-757-1424 DIRECTIONS IN ELECTRONIC CHARTING/DIGITAL MAPS 11:45 Richard Taylor, fisherman, Sea Scallop Project, Box 7002, Gloucester, Mass 01930 978-281-2718 fax: 978-281-0255 email: rtaylor@cove.com http://www.seascallop.com 12:00 noon break - Fish Expo Keynote Address, Penny Dalton, NMFS Administrator 1pm Session - Modeling and predictive software (Richard Taylor, session chair) 1:10 Dave Mountain, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NMFS,
Woods Hole, Mass. SPATIALLY-EXPLICIT SIMULATIONS OF GEORGES BANK LARVAL DISPERSAL and POPULATION DYNAMICS We couple circulation models with simple population and behavioral
models to Larvae are transported using the 6 bimonthly climatological flowfields
developed The model results allow visualization of the interaction between
life history 1:30 Charles E. Helsley, Sea Grant, University of Hawaii,
USE OF SWATH MAPPING SYSTEMS FOR FISHERIES HABITAT ASSESMENT -
Recent interest in fisheries habitat, particularly those that are
critical In 1994 and 1995 the MR1 system was used on a series of cruises in
waters Using both backscatter intensity imagery and bathymetry, one can
deduce 1:50 James Lindholm, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
MODELING THE EFFECTS OF FISHING AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DESIGN
OF The STELLA (Systems Thinking Environmental Learning Laboratory) Research software is a graphical programming language for both Mac and PC platforms. It provides a transparent modeling platform that facilitates rapid incorporation of scientists with a variety of backgrounds. Programming in STELLA is icon-driven. STELLA offers a wide array of built-in functions and graphic display capabilities. A STELLA model was used to: 1) link patterns in habitat-mediated survivorship of post- settlement juvenile cod with spatial variations in habitat complexity, 2) simulate habitat change based on fishing activities, and 3) determine the role of marine protected areas for enhancing recruitment success. Density-dependent natural mortality was specified as three alternative functional response curves to assess the influence of different predator foraging strategies on juvenile survivorship during the first 12 months of demersal existence. The model was applied to a theoretical patch of hard-bottom substrata and to a case study based on seafloor habitat distributions at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Gulf of Maine, Northwest Atlantic). Patterns in the shape of response surfaces that show the relationship between juvenile cod survivorship and density as well as movement rate were similar regardless of functional response type, juvenile cod movement rates and post-settlement density were critical for predicting the effects of marine protected area size on survivorship, and effects of habitat change from fishing show significant negative effects on juvenile cod survivorship and use of marine protected areas can ameliorate such effects. 2:10 Richard B. Allen, Independent Fishery Conservationist,
35 Bliss Rd., Wakefield, RI 02879 (401) 789-1463
Fax: (401) 783-8110
MOVING TOWARD SPATIALLY EXPLICT MODELS OF THE LOBSTER RESOURCE AND FISHERY Existing models of the American lobster fishery utilize hypothetical populations of lobsters that demonstrate the same biological characteristics that are believed to exist in three identified natural stock areas. In contrast, the model (SARLMOD) used in the management of the South Australian Rock Lobster fishery contains a variety of actual data on one-quarter degree cells within the two South Australian lobster fishery management zones. SARLMOD outputs can be compared with actual historical data on an area by area basis. Graphical outputs of SARLMOD and SIMLOB, the U.S. lobster simulation model, will be compared. 2:30 Chris Polloni, US Geological Survey, Woods Hole Field Center, Woods Hole, MA 02543 voice: (508) 457-2280 fax: (508) 457-2310 email: cpolloni@usgs.gov CD/DVD-ROM PUBLICATIONS FOR GIS DATA DISTRIBUTION 2:50 Geoff Meaden, Marine Fisheries GIS Unit, Canterbury Christ Church University College SUMMARY: HOW WHAT WE HAVE SEEN TELLS US WHERE WE NEED TO GO 3pm break 3:30 final panel: Geoff Meaden, panel chair DEVELOPING OUR KNOWLEGE OF HABITAT FOR FISHERIES - GIS, ITS APPLICATIONS and SOLUTIONS panel: |