IMAS-Fish: Integrated Management System to support the sustainability of Greek Fishery resources. A multidisciplinary web-based database management system: implementation, capabilities, utilization and future prospects for fisheries stakeholders

Abstract

This article describes in detail the "IMAS-Fish" web-based tool implementation technicalities and provides examples on how it can be used for scientific and management purposes, setting new standards in fishery science. "IMAS-Fish" was developed to support the assessment of marine biological resources by: (i) homogenizing all available datasets under a relational database, (ii) facilitating quality control and data entry, (iii) offering easy access to raw data, (iv) providing processed results through a series of classical and advanced fishery statistics algorithms, and (v) visualizing the results on maps using GIS(1) technology. Available datasets cover among others: Fishery independent experimental survey data (location, species, catch composition, biological data); Commercial fishing activities (fishing gear, location, catch composition, discards); Market sampling data (species, biometry, maturity, ageing); Satellite derived ocean data (Sea surface temperature, Salinity, Wind speed, Chlorophyll-a concentrations, Photosynthetically active radiation); Oceanographic parameters (CTD2 measurements); Official national fishery statistics; Fishing fleet registry and VMS3 data; Fishing ports inventory; Fishing legislation archive (national and EU); Bathymetry grids. Currently, the homogenized database includes more than 100,000,000 records. The web-based application is accessible through an internet browser and can serve as a valuable tool for all involved stakeholders: fisheries scientists, state officials responsible for management, fishermen's cooperatives, academics, students and NGOs(4).