A Bayesian Introduction to Fish Population Analysis

Fisheries science is an applied field. A biologist working on a depleted population might need to forecast the population trajectory or examine which factors are limiting recovery. For an exploited population, a biologist might investigate whether the fishery or the stock would be improved through harvest regulation, such as a quota or size limit. Addressing those sorts of questions generally involves estimating parameters such as population size or survival rate. An essential step is characterizing the degree of uncertainty in results, which can be substantial for fisheries models. Bayesian methods and current software provide a flexible and powerful framework for addressing these challenges. Models developed using Bayesian software can be tailored to the unique aspects of each field study.