Marine Stock Assessments

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In order to provide an accurate depiction of fish stock, Marine stock assessments were

developed by scientists. Methods utilized are broken up into two categories including: stock

assessment and stock management. By utilizing a variety of methods to quantify the ever

changing quantity of fish in the sea, stock assessments are able to provide a realistic idea of the

impact we have on marine life. Marine stock assessments play a pivital role in the regulation and

understanding of marine fish. While Stock assessments are effective it is important to understand

they also has its limitations.

Marine Stock assessments aim to provide an accurate depiction of fish stock by gathering

data using different methods. The basis for each
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Finally, Catch simply refers to the trends in fish caught. The three categories work

together to provide the information necessary in order to implement Marine stock assessments.

There is currently a wide variety of stock assessments being utilized, including; Catch

per Unit Effort, Virtual Population Analysis, Research Surveying and Chaos Theory. CPUE

measures the quantity of a given species of fish by comparing the size of the catch with the

amount of days the boat is out to sea. CPUE is important because it provides us with information

in regards to how much fishing of a specific species is sustainable. It also shows us when a

species is being overfished and becomes at risk. Virtual Population Analysis provides us with an

estimate of fish born each year by monitoring samples provided at fishing docks. VPA also takes

into consideration fish that are now dead and is repeated each year. Research surveying look at

certain samples at multiple locations they also looks at the effects certain actions are having on

the marine life and the marine environment, including hook and line fishing as well as bottom

trawling. Scientists have recently begun utilizing chaos theory in stock assessments.