Fish Population Dynamic and Stock Assessment

1.7.1. Indicators

Indicators are data or combination of data collected and processed for a clearly defined analytical or policy purpose. That purpose should be explicitly specified and taken into account when interpreting the value of an indicator. Fisheries indicators should provide practical and cost-effective means for the evaluation of the state and the development of fisheries systems and the effects that policy changes have on those systems.

In considering the concept of indicators of sustainable development, a necessary first step is to define what is meant by sustainable development in the context of fisheries. Sustainable development is generally defined as being development that meets the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. In the fisheries sector, the use of biological indicators in the development of fisheries assessments and management plans has been standard practice, in some of the countries for many years. However, relatively little attention has paid to the development of economic and social indicators that serve to assess progress on other aspects of sustainable development.

With respect to criteria for success it has been found, both theoretically and empirically that good indicators are easily measured, cost effective to collect, to calculate, and easily interpreted ( to avoid confusion about the state of the system they are reflecting). Simple indicators are consistently found to out perform more complex (model-dependent) indicators, which are sensitive to data quality. There is consensus on the need for a suite rather than a single indicator and on the types of indicators that perform well regardless of system types.