Last modified: 28 Jun 2018 10:27
This course features significant input from professional scientists from Marine Scotland Science (MSS), the government’s foremost marine science research laboratory, based in Aberdeen. Several lectures and practical sessions are delivered by MSS scientists, allowing students to learn about, and develop a practical understanding of, fishing gear and the variety of marine survey techniques employed by national and international agencies to determine the status of marine resources. The course also develops students’ computer programming abilities, adding to their numerate and analytical skills, which are in such high demand from employers in academia and applied science.
| Study Type | Postgraduate | Level | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Session | First Sub Session | Credit Points | 5.5 credits (2.75 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | None. | Sustained Study | No |
| Co-ordinators |
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The course, which includes a significant contribution from Marine Scotland’s Science’s Marine Laboratory Aberdeen, introduces students to fishing gear and fish behaviour in relation to gear, and to fishery independent survey methods to assess abundance and distribution. It covers the various types of fishing methods, as well as measurement and observation in fishing gear experiments. Various fish behaviour concepts are covered including swimming and fish sensory systems. The concept of selectivity is described in theoretical detail and is then followed by a description of the various selectivity techniques and a review of unaccounted mortality. The other part covers fishery independent (survey) methods, with emphasis on the acoustic survey technique. Lectures are given on each of the main survey methods: acoustic, trawl, larvae, egg and TV surveys. The general design concept, relating to all types of survey, is addressed in a lecture and illustrated through a practical as applied to acoustic surveys. Particular attention is then given to the more complex acoustic survey technique. Lectures cover the physics of sound, acoustic instruments, the acoustic properties of fish and methods of biomass estimation. An acoustic survey data analysis lecture is followed by a practical which details the procedures from acoustic measurement to a global estimate of abundance. Lectures are also given covering survey statistics common to all methods, including one on geostatistics.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students should be able to:
· Know about the various types of fishing gear available
· Understand the fish capture process and how fish respond
· Understand how to survey a variety of different fisheries resources
· Understand basic fishery survey statistics
· Understand the basics of fisheries acoustics
Practical skills
· Develop computer programming skills
· Appreciate survey logistics
Transferable Skills
By the end of the course the student should be able to:
· Design and analyse an acoustic survey
· Handle R code more effectively
· Use a greater variety of R functions
· Have a broader understanding of tools in marine technology
Assessment
The assessment is based on a written report of the survey analysis computer practical.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
The module will be assessed based on 2-graded practicals (70% for analysis and 30% for design)
There are no assessments for this course.
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