Mapping fish at the UK scale: present and potential

Ian J. Winfield 1 & David B. Roy 2

1 Lake Ecosystems Group, CEH Lancaster2 Biological Records Centre, CEH Wallingford

Structure of presentation

• Mapping and ‘biological recording’ at the UK scale

• Mapping fish in the past

• Mapping fish in the present

• Mapping fish in the future

• Summary

Mapping and ‘biological recording’ at the UK scale

• Individual records

• National recording schemes

• Biological Records Centre (BRC)

• National Biodiversity Network (NBN)

Mapping fish in the past

• Pioneering work of Peter S Maitland

• Primarily professional survey data

• Limited use of anglers’ records

• Database and Atlas of Freshwater Fishes (1996 to 2002)

• Freshwater Fishes in Britain (2004)

Mapping fish in the present

• BRC Freshwater Fish Recording Scheme

• Over a million anglers visit the UK’s fresh waters each year

• Great recording potential

• Recent development of several fish-recording Apps

Mapping fish in the future

• BioBase

• FINS

• Fishbrain

• National Biodiversity Network

BioBase

• Produced by Lowrance, USA

• Commercial enterprise

• Combines consumer hydroacoustics (fish finders) and cloud computing

• Simple field operation logs to SD card

• Data uploaded on return home for processing by automated system

• Reports with data for bathymetry, macrophytes and bottom typing

• Subscription business model

• www.cibiobase.com

BioBase

2012 2013 2014

Freq Occurrence 85% Freq Occurrence 95% Freq Occurrence 81%

Biovolume 40% Biovolume 53% Biovolume 37%

BioBase

• Lowrance’s free ‘Insight Genesis’ is already producing ‘social maps’ of lake bathymetries

• Opportunities for citizen science on macrophytes, bottom typing, water surface temperature and fish

BioBase

• Future utilisation of co-collected data on water surface temperature

• Future incorporation of higher frequency sound data for higher resolution macrophyte ‘images’

• Future incorporation of existing fish detection algorithms for quantitative analysis

FINS

• FishingInfo National Science

• Produced by Cefas, UK

• Supported by Angling Trust

• Supported by Environment Agency

• Currently in beta testing

• www.cefas.co.uk

Aims• Engage anglers to share information with us through citizen science

• Develop a proof of concept smartphone app and database as a reporting platform for future citizen science projects– An electronic logbook to help anglers manage the records they already collect and be

encouraged to record additional information that may be beneficial to science and fish health management while fishing

FishingInfo National Science

Fishbrain

• Produced by FishBrain AB of Stockholm, Sweden

• Commercial enterprise

• In ‘association’ with Angling Times

• Recent capital investment of $8M

• Subscription business model (free use with reduced access)

• www.fishbrain.com

Fishbrain

Fishbrain

Fishbrain

National Biodiversity Network

Summary

• Mapping fish has a history of relative neglect in the UK

• But over a million anglers visit the UK’s fresh waters each year

• Great potential if can be accessed

• Recent development of several fish-recording Apps

• Specific means of acquiring records is unimportant

• Making resulting data available to all is very important