Visualization for fisheries management from a spatiotemporal perspective

Visualization is a very potent tool in the provision of decision support in fisheries information systems. Fisheries management involves distinct groups of participants with a common purpose but different perspectives on strategies to be pursued and the information required for effective management. This paper discusses the visualization capabilities of FishCAM2000 (FC), which is a computer-based integrated information system for fisheries management and marine environmental monitoring. The design of FC is modular, and comprises a real-tune, on-board data capture component, resource management, and analysis modules for fishermen, regional and national fishery managers, plus modeling and analysis toolkits for scientists involved in longer-term stock prediction. In developing FC, particular attention has been paid to structuring the system's architecture so that a range of visual spatiotemporal graphics can be produced by all groups of users. It is also necessary to link the base data set derived from the mandatory logbook data to other marine data sets for biotic and abiotic variables to enable multivariate modeling and analysis of the marine environment. The visualization capabilities of FC are an integral part of all the analytical functions. (C) 2002 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea.