Data: 2014-01-15 02:30 PM
Orador/Formador: Nuno Prista
Local: IPMA Algês Lisboa
Contacto email: info@ipma.pt
Contacto telefónico: 214770000
Accurate and precise estimation of discards is a major objective of data collection programs throughout the world. Discard reduction is also a major topic of the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the future Data Collection Multi-Annual Programme (DC-MAP). Using data from the Portuguese on-board observer programme that samples two otter trawl fisheries in ICES Division IXa, we compare two different approaches for estimating the sampling effort required to attain "assessment grade" discard estimates: a model-based approach (exponential-decay models) and a probability-based approach (based on classic sampling theory). We show that both approaches attain comparable sample size estimates and that the sample size required to attain precision objectives varies across species and across fisheries being likely influenced by discard motifs. We demonstrate that sampling levels at least two fold higher than the present sampling levels would be required to attain the precision levels set in the current Data Collection Framework (DCF). We discuss the implications of these results in light of the future ability of European onboard sampling programs to detect, e.g., progressive reductions in discard levels.