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ZO5806: FISHERIES SCIENCE (2023-2024)

Last modified: 05 Oct 2023 08:46


Course Overview

The course introduces students to the essential elements of fisheries science. It consists of three main sections: fishing technology and behaviour, fishery independent methods, and stock assessment techniques. Ultimately it will equip students with the basic knowledge and skills required to assess the abundance and distribution of fish and to understand key elements of the provision of advice for fisheries management.

Course Details

Study Type Postgraduate Level 5
Term Second Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Dr Julia Wouters

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

None.

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

The course includes a significant contribution from Marine Scotland Science staff. Consequently, the timetable changes year to year to accommodate Marine Scotland staff availability. The course consists of three sections, which are not necessarily given in the order below.

The first section reviews the various types of fishing methods, as well as measurement and observation in fishing gear experiments. Various behavioural concepts are covered, including swimming and fish sensory systems. The concept of selectivity is described in theoretical detail, followed by a description of the various methods of improving selectivity of fishing gear and a review of ‘unaccounted mortality’.

The second section covers fishery independent (survey) methods, with lectures on each of the main types of survey: acoustic, trawl, larvae, egg and TV surveys. Survey design concepts relating to all types of survey are introduced in a lecture and illustrated through a practical as applied to acoustic surveys. Lectures are also given covering survey statistics common to all methods.

The final section covers stock assessment, introducing students to ideas about analysing fisheries data and applying both classic and modern fisheries science models. This part of the course is based on a series of computer-based practicals which deal with three main concepts: cohort analysis using fisheries data, separable analysis using survey data, and length-based stock assessment.
Extensive use will be made of both Excel spreadsheets and (for the first two concepts) the R programming language.

By the end of the course students should be able to:

  • Write appropriate computer code and utilise R functions in relation to fisheries analysis and stock assessment
  • Design an acoustic survey
  • Distinguish between survey types, employ fishery survey statistics, explain basics of fisheries acoustics and apply principles and methods of stock assessment and fisheries analysis
  • Distinguish between types of fishing gear, describe fish capture processes and differentiate between responses of different fish to different gear

Taught topics covered include:
(note that these may vary slightly between years)
Trawl survey
Mackerel and Horse Mackerel egg survey
Nephrop TV survey
Fish behaviour
Applied fish behaviour
Fishing methods
Technical conservation measures
Inshore fisheries
Wrasse fisheries
Remote electronic monitoring
Fish market sampling
Physics of sound
Acoustics instruments
Acoustic surveys
Survey design and analysis
Cohort analysis (stock assessment)
Separable analysis (stock assessment)
Length-based stock assessment

 


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Lab Report: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

formative feedback during practical, individualised written feedback on submission

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Lab Report: Individual

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 50
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

Look up Week Numbers

Feedback

individual written feedback on submission

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralApplywrite appropriate computer code and utilise R functions in relation to fisheries analysis and stock assessment
ConceptualEvaluateto distinguish between survey types, employ fishery survey statistics, explain basics of fisheries acoustics and apply principles and methods of stock assessment and fisheries analysis
ProceduralCreatedesign and analyse an acoustic survery
FactualUnderstandto distinguish between types of fishing gear, describe fish capture processes and differentiate between responses of different fish to different gear

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