Modern technologies and integrated observing systems are “instrumental” to fisheries oceanography: A brief history of ocean data collection

Abstract

Interdisciplinary data fuel fisheries oceanography research and the ecosystem‐based approaches to management and sustainable development it informs. Underlying this is a distributed ocean observing framework that is integrated, interoperable, interactive, and accessible. In recognition of the 30th anniversary of Fisheries Oceanography the journal, this paper reviews the evolution of observing instruments and platforms used in contemporary fisheries oceanography the science. Illustrated with personal anecdotes, past efforts to create or adopt observing technologies, and examples of their use in research, this highlights the spectrum of instruments, systems, and programs used to survey and monitor ocean ecosystems. Modern ocean observing systems are complex and varied, reflecting the range and diversity of data required by fisheries oceanographers. These systems require a large and ongoing investment and an interdisciplinary community of scientists, engineers, and technicians to design, build, install, operate, and maintain them. Common themes emerge from a review of past successful instrument R&D and deployments. It is a highly collaborative, integrative, and iterative process. Most systems are the result of vision, planning, and perseverance, backed by careful calibration and intercomparison. Long‐term support is essential; public–private partnerships that leverage funding, technology, and infrastructure are critical. Sustaining long time series for monitoring population and ecosystem change and to support fisheries oceanography research is a priority. Future areas of focus include continuously innovating and updating technologies, implementing a backbone of core observations, and maintaining a nimble infrastructure and R&D capacity to seize new opportunities and address emerging challenges.

Nature of property rights and motivation for blue growth: An empirical evidence from the fisheries industry

“…However, the coefficient for this relationship appears inconsistent across DOLS specifications, increasing fisheries industry sustainability by 0.03% to 0.04% for each increase in percentage in IP rights for the estimators FEOLS and FMOLS, accordingly. This research is consistent with earlier findings by Ziegler et al (2022), Scarnecchia and Schooley (2022), and Schwing (2023). Understanding the marine environment, developing the future blue economy, and realizing Europe's goal of being the first climate‐neutral continent by 2050 depends on fisheries and marine intellectual property rights.…”

“…While increasing quantiles, the magnitude of the influence of intellectual property rights grows. As a result, it is showing consistency with the findings of Schwing (2023), Scarnecchia and Schooley (2022), and Ziegler et al (2022), who concluded that the protection of intellectual property rights encourages the fisheries sector to pursue more sustainable growth. In addition, a strong and positive correlation exists between market size outcomes and fisheries productivity in the medium and above‐medium quantiles.…”

“…They used the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the Delphi method to establish the evaluation index system and analyze the competitiveness of the fisheries industry of 11 coastal provinces in China. Many studies, including those by Schwing (2023), Scarnecchia and Schooley (2022), Ziegler et al (2022), andPathak et al (2022), stated that equitable and resilient policy innovations must coexist with intellectual property rights if aquatic food systems are to undergo a transformation that makes them socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable. Through integrating intellectual property rights, technological advancement, and public policy, Kemp et al (2023), Karagiannis andMetaxas (2023), andNogueira et al (2022) investigated the future advancements of marine fisheries in Europe.…”

Technology advancement and international law in marine policy, challenges, solutions and future prospective

“…Oceanographic monitoring systems, these systems include buoys, floats, and gliders equipped with sensors that measure parameters such as temperature, salinity, pH, and nutrient levels in the ocean. These real-time data sources provide critical information for understanding climate change, ocean acidification, and the health of marine ecosystems (Schwing, 2023). Data management and modeling, advanced data management and modeling techniques are essential for analyzing and interpreting vast amounts of marine data.…”

Implementing an ecosystem oceanography program to increase capacity and preparedness for dynamic ocean management and fishery challenges

“…All of these approaches have readily applied the use of a conceptual model for describing how ecosystem components interact and how they are scaled relative to biophysical drivers. The importance of the Stommel Diagram approach, which examines scales of spatiotemporal variability of biological and physical oceanography, is now a ubiquitous feature of biological, fisheries and ecosystem oceanography (Stommel, 1963;Haury et al, 1978;Levin, 1992;Schwing, 2023). This cornerstone approach to conceptualizing oceanographic variability extends to development of research programs invested in understanding the causal and ultimate drivers of marine ecosystem dynamics worldwide by pairing empirical and numerical modeling research priorities (e.g., Wells et al, 2020).…”