FAO FISHERIES TECHNICAL PAPER 257 FIRM/FIDI/T257 Practical guidelines for statistical monitoring of fisheries in manpower limited situations |
J.F. Caddy
Senior Fishery Resources Officer
Marine Resources Service
Fao Fisheries Department
G.P. Bazigos
Fishery Statistician
Fishery Information, Data and Statistics Service
Fao Fisheries Department
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
M-40
ISBN 92-5-102256-9
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission, with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should be addressed to the Director, Publications Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy.
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome, 1985
© FAO
While the present paper was written with the special concerns of small island states in mind, it is clear that a much wider application can be envisaged, namely to other countries where trained manpower is in short supply. The growing interest shown by some groups of island states in coordinating their fisheries legislation, information gathering systems and even in management of fishery resources with their neighbours, makes it possible to consider whether economies of scale are not feasible and can be achieved at a national or international level in fields related to fisheries. Some of the difficulties of implementing conventional data gathering systems by sample survey, and in designing and maintaining proper up-to-date storage and retrieval systems for small island states on a rational basis are reviewed in this document. Statistical sampling and data storage systems are logical areas for coordination for countries sharing a common geographical area and resource, and some general information is provided that may be useful to national administrations in planning their own systems, or discussing coordination in data gathering with others.
Distribution: Fisheries Department Regional Fishery Officers Selector SM |
For bibliographic purposes this
document should be cited as follows: Caddy, J.F. and G.P. Bazigos, 1985 Practical guidelines for statistical monitoring of fisheries in manpower limited situations. FAO Fish.Tech.Pap., (257): 86 p. |
ABSTRACT |
The main categories and uses of fisheries-related information by fisheries administrations for stock assessment, resource management, investment, planning and economics analysis, and for social and nutritional studies are briefly discussed in this document, and the appropriate scale of these activities is illustrated using as example the constraints faced by fisheries administrators of small island states in funding and manpower in the fisheries sector. Special emphasis is placed on the types of data that can be collected by fisheries officers, and which already exist, and are available to them from other sources. |
Mapping current information on the resources, the fishermen, and their employment status, the seasonality of the fishing operations, the type and number of boats and gear used, location of wharfs, landing sites, markets, shore plant and boat repair and building facilities, not to mention catches and other biological information and the main routes for transshipment and import/export of fish products, is a necessary first step towards considering the type and scale of statistical monitoring, and in designing a filing and monitoring system for the fishery. |
In planning such a system of work, the administrator will have to ensure that the fisheries officer coordinates with other organizations collecting relevant data, in order to make optimal use of existing manpower. Collection methods based on the interview approach and sampling surveys may have to be used with care, and emphasis given instead to the commissioning of data gathering by key individuals (data sources) outside the government and strategically located within the fishery system, and to the use of simple logbooks or sales slips (which may be legislated as a requirement for licensing of fishermen or dealers). The field activities of officers should where possible, follow a present sampling design in order to maximize utility of these observations. Their data gathering activities should also be aimed at ensuring a high level of reliability of the data received from other sources. Quality control methods should be introduced aiming to ensure high quality of the statistics produced and in debiasing wrong estimates. |
Some general guidelines are suggested for design and maintenance of data storage and retrieval systems, and the importance of feedback of useful data to the industry while protecting individual sources, is emphasized. |
A set of draft forms is provided for data-gathering in a variety of disciplines, that with priorization and modification to suit local needs, may provide a useful basis for an integrated fisheries data base of value to fishery planners. |
Hyperlinks to non-FAO Internet sites do not imply any official endorsement of or responsibility for the opinions, ideas, data or products presented at these locations, or guarantee the validity of the information provided. The sole purpose of links to non-FAO sites is to indicate further information available on related topics.