Global Fishing Exploitation Patterns (F/FMSY) for Demersal and Pelagic Fish, 1841-2004

Global gridded fishing mortality (F) relative to the fishing mortality that supports maximum sustainable yield (FMSY) for three fish functional types: forage fish, large pelagic fish, and demersal fish. The dataset, created by P. Daniël van Denderen of the Technical University of Denmark, covers the years 1841 to 2004 at a 0.5-degree spatial resolution. It was generated using reconstructed catch data and a data-limited assessment model to estimate historical fishing patterns.

Use Cases

• Simulate historical fishing patterns in ecosystem models based on gridded F/FMSY data.
• Analyze long-term trends in fishing exploitation rates per functional type and Large Marine Ecosystem (LME).
• Calibrate or force fish biomass models like FEISTY using spatially allocated fishing mortality inputs.

Strengths

• Long temporal coverage spanning 164 years (1841-2004).
• Global spatial coverage at a 0.5-degree resolution.
• Data is derived from multiple reconstructed sources including global catch and fishing effort data.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.
• The F/FMSY values require multiplication with model-specific FMSY to obtain absolute fishing mortality (F), adding a layer of interpretation.

Provenance

Source

Technical University of Denmark, based on reconstructed catch and effort data from sources like Watson (2017) and Rousseau et al. (2022).

Collection Method

Estimated using a data-limited catch assessment model for high-catch areas and effort conversion for others, then spatially allocated.

Time Range

1841-2004

Geography

Global