PhD defence
PhD defence by Paco Rodriguez-Tress
Paco Rodriguez-Tress will defend his PhD thesis, “Optimizing important pelagic fish resources by using data from commercial vessels and acoustics”.
Paco Rodriguez-Tress, DTU Aqua, will defend his PhD thesis, “Optimizing important pelagic fish resources by using data from commercial vessels and acoustics”, on Wednesday, 21 May 2025 at 12:00.
You can attend the defence online on Zoom via this link or in person at DTU, Kemitorvet, 2800 Kongens Lyngby, building 208, auditorium 53.
In his thesis, Paco Rodriguez-Tress explores how to use fisheries-dependent data to contribute to the management of small pelagic fish. These fish are central to marine ecosystems but also support economically significant fisheries.
The small pelagic fish has highly aggregative schooling behavior which complicates the use of fisheries-dependent data in stock assessments, as it directly affects fishery catch rates. As a result, fisheries management primarily relies on fisheries-independent acoustic surveys, despite the wide availability of data from the fisheries.
Paco Rodriguez-Tress' thesis contributes to the understanding of the schooling behavior of sprat, herring and capelin, and how it relates to stock status. The thesis provides a basis for exploring how fisheries-dependent data can be used to assess the stocks and improve marine management using alternative fishing effort metrics.
This PhD is an industrial PhD under Innovation Fund Denmark, conducted in cooperation with the Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation.
A copy of the thesis is available for reading at DTU Aqua. Please contact PhD Coordinator Susan Zumbach Johannesen, szjo@aqua.dtu.dk
Examiners
- Professor Martin Lindegren, DTU Aqua (chair)
- Researcher Nils Olav Handegard, Institute of Marine Research, Norway
- Chief Scientific Officer Steven Mackinson, Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association, United Kingdom
Chair at defence
- Professor Brian MacKenzie, DTU Aqua
Supervisors
- Principal Supervisor: Senior Researcher Stefan Neuenfeldt, DTU Aqua
- Co-supervisor: Scientific Advisor Claus Reedtz Sparrevohn, Danish Pelagic Producers Organisation
Learn more