Statistics is an indispensable tool in modern research. All involved in research and development require some grounding in statistics, whether it be to design and implement a research program and analyse the results, or to properly evaluate the published results of others, or to assess the promise of a proposal put forward for funding.

Fisheries management is grounded in science, and good science requires an underpinning of sound experimental design, sampling and statistical analysis. There is a need to increase the base level of competency in statistics at the workplace and for all levels of people involved particularly in the developing countries, and in so doing, provide support for the research effort that underpins the management of our fisheries resources.