DABB - Developing a system for data collection and analysis for stock assessment and decision support

Sustainable management of Norwegian fisheries depends on precise and robust stock estimates, and the fishing industry relies on stable regulatory conditions. Current management struggles to maintain the industry's trust, particularly in the pelagic sector, where the gap between fishers' own experiences and the management authorities' stock assessments can be significant. Large quota reductions — such as the 22% cut for mackerel in 2025 — do little to build confidence, while also highlighting the cost of uncertainty in the assessments.

The fishing fleet presents an untapped potential for stock assessments through the continuous collection of data from modern echosounders and sonars during commercial fishing, as a form of citizen science. Greater coverage in time and space could reduce uncertainty in assessments, while also incorporating the observations and experiences of the industry. At the same time, there is potential to use the same data to develop decision support systems and expand the knowledge base needed to drive operational improvements in fishing. This potential has long been a topic of discussion within and between research funding bodies, management authorities, and research communities. The main challenges associated with using this type of fleet data for management purposes relate to a lack of control over measurement procedures and the calibration status of acoustic sensors across the fleet. 

The project is led by SINTEF Nord AS, with SINTEF Digital, SINTEF Ocean, Hub Ocean, BarentsWatch and NTNU Fjordlab as project partners. The involved SINTEF research groups are responsible for systems developemnt, methods for data processing and machine learning, as well as piloting. NTNU Fjordlab provides access to research vessels for controlled testing. HUB Ocean is responsible for integration with their Ocean Data Platform (ODP) and contributes expertise within interoperability and data harmonisation. BarentsWatch will facilitate the integration of analysis results into the FiskInfo/BarentsWatch services.