Project number: 2018-148
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $179,630.00
Principal Investigator: Cathy M. Dichmont
Organisation: Cathy Dichmont Consulting
Project start/end date: 31 Dec 2018 - 30 Dec 2020
Contact:
FRDC

Need

A review of all stock assessments undertaken in Australia and packages in the USA was undertaken by the FRDC 2014-039 project. This project found that of the 76 data rich assessments developed in Australia, about 52 of these could have been undertaken using off the shelf (OTS) packages. Although developing bespoke packages has advantages, the OTS packages that are freely available for use by analysts, have been evaluated using simulations and been extensively peer reviewed. Due to time and financial constraints in Australia, there is a need for a more strategic view of the framework Australia should adopt with respect to stock assessments. For example, there is a greater need to rapidly assess not only data rich but also data poor fisheries’ stocks, which will need the increased use of OTS packages. Transition to these packages is hampered by several constraints: but mainly, the packages are not in a single location and capacity needs to be built in their use. There is thus a need to a) develop a toolbox that links to key freely available OTS packages, and b) allows Australian assessors to contribute their models, and c) provides resources for their use.

Objectives

1. Develop a resource for housing and linking to Australian and International stock assessment packages (the Toolbox).
2. Provide material that will value add expertise to aid use of the packages within the Toolbox.
3. Provide a platform for Australian assessments (with their associated resources) to be housed.

Final report

ISBN: 978-1-925994-23-0
Authors: C.M. Deng R.A. Dowling N. Punt A.E. Tsang A.
Final Report • 2021-04-30 • 1.34 MB
2018-148-DLD.pdf

Summary

Stock assessment scientists from CSIRO and Cathy Dichmont Consulting designed a web-based tool that collated freely available stock assessment packages (http://toolbox.frdc.com.au/).Web searches and global consultation with assessment scientists identified more than 100 assessment packages. These were assigned to one of 10 classes of assessments and evaluated as to whether they were state-of-the-art within their class. The website provides a novel feature that allows searching and filtering for packages basedon specific features from the extensive model specifications that are provided in a consistent manner between packages (http://toolbox.frdc.com.au/toolbox/). Test data and instructions for some packages are also provided as downloadable files (http://toolbox.frdc.com.au/instructions/for a scientist to run locally on their computer. The test data can also be used to simulation test other assessment methods since these simulated data have been produced from specified, and therefore known, population status and biology. An ability to link a specific stock assessment report to the web site is also provided so that users can search for past assessments reports. Presently there are more than 70 Australian stock assessment reports linked within this repository. This project’s work is also available as a journal publication (Dichmont et al. 2020;https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2020.105844)

Related research

Environment
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PROJECT NUMBER • 2023-082
PROJECT STATUS:
CURRENT

Australian Fisheries and Aquaculture Statistics 2022

1. To maintain and improve the data base of production, gross value of production and trade statistics for the Australian fishing industry, including aquaculture.
ORGANISATION:
Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) ABARES