Modelling and Quantitative Methods in Fisheries

Malcolm Haddon is a senior fisheries modeller for CSIRO in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Prior to joining CSIRO, Dr. Haddon was an associate professor at the University of Tasmania, head of fisheries at Australian Maritime College, a senior research fellow at the University of Sydney, editor of the New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, and a lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington. He has conducted stock assessments on Tasmanian rock lobster, giant crab, and abalone. Now at CSIRO, he continues to produce stock assessments of abalone but also for an array of Australian Commonwealth fisheries.

The text remains true to the author’s initial aim of providing an introduction to the analytical methods currently being used in quantitative biology and fisheries science. It is important to remember when reading this book that there are few texts that students can truly consult on fisheries science without a detailed understanding of stock assessment and fisheries management practices—this text continues to bridge that gap.The material has been revised and improvements made to a number of the examples. Two concerns and reservations that I commented on in my previous review have been addressed by the inclusion of two new chapters—one on characterizing uncertainty covering asymptotic errors and likelihood profiles, and the other on size-based models using abalone as an example. The book is lavishly illustrated throughout with the use of Microsoft Excel workbooks which adds to the flexibility, availability and ease of use of the text. I recommend the text both as a course companion and for private study.—Carl M. O’Brien, International Statistical Review, 2012This update of Malcolm Haddon’s book is timely and appreciated. The authors breadth of interest and experience really comes through. Fisheries science, and much of ecological science, has become highly numerical. Modelling, statistics, and scientific programming are now sought-after skills. This book doesn’t just tell you about these, but gives you the tools, and even the R code to do it. I would expect everyone from graduate students through to professionals to gain useful knowledge from this book. - Matt Dunn, NIWAPraise for the First Edition:The book is a good introduction to modeling for students and practitioners. The emphasis is on population models, with chapters on parameter estimation, randomization tests, resampling methods, Monte Carlo methods, stock-recruitment, and age-structures models. One helpful feature is the use of spreadsheet examples to illustrate the methods.—Fisheries, 2002

• Fisheries and Modelling. Simple Population Models. Model Parameter Estimation. Computer-Intensive Methods. Randomization Tests. Statistical Bootstrap Methods. Monte Carlo Modelling. Characterization of Uncertainty. Growth of Individuals. Stock Recruitment Relationships. Surplus Production Models. Age-Structured Models. Size-Based Models. Appendix. Bibliography. Index.