Fish Population Dynamics, Monitoring and Stock Assessment

Dear Colleagues,

The key purpose of fisheries management is to conserve fish populations and communities and to maximize harvests, although additional objectives have been considered such as social benefits including employment, and low-carbon fishery operation, and preventing abuse of laborers in high-sea fisheries. To achieve the key purpose, managers want to know fish population sizes (abundance or biomass) and optimal harvest efforts, which fish stock assessment scientists need to provide. In reality, it is difficult to make accurate stock assessments because of a lack of information about fish of interest. For this reason, knowledge about fish population dynames, and data collected through surveys as well as quantitative methods are prerequisites for stock assessments. Like other scientific disciplines, these disciplines have continuously progressed. For example, the application of a state-space assessment approach has been dominant during recent decades, leading to better assessments. Additionally, the effect of climate change is being incorporated into stock assessments. Further, a machine learning approach is suggested for efficient assessments.   

The Special Issue aims to update and assemble the recent information on three parts, population dynamics, data collection, and stock assessments, promoting the communication among experts in those three disciplines. We invite your paper submission in the form of original research, reviews, perspectives, and short communications. Topics can be, but are not limited to, the following:

• Effect of climate change on fish physiology and population dynamics;
• Survey methods/design;
• Remote sensing, electronic monitoring and other novel data sources for assessments;
• Optimal harvest levels;
• Review of criteria for overfishing;
• Methods for fish stock assessments;
• A machine learning approach for stock assessments;
• Latest technology in genetics for stock identification;
• Forecasts of anadromous fish runs.

Dr. Saang-Yoon Hyun
Prof. Dr. Elizabeth A. Babcock
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Fishes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• climate change
• fish population dynamics
• stock assessments
• surveys