Fisheries stock assessment software development tools now publicly
accessible
The most widely used software package for the development of
state-of-the-art fisheries stock assessment methods, AD Model Builder,
or ADMB, can now be downloaded without charge from a public website,
http://admb-project.org.
ADMB-based computer models are used globally to monitor populations of
many endangered and commercially valuable species, to develop
place-based resource management policies, and to reconstruct movements
of animals tracked with electronic tags. ADMB- based stock assessments
are critical to the management of commercially important fisheries
stocks worth billions of dollars as well as ecologically sensitive
species, in the United States and internationally. Every NOAA Fisheries
Science Center uses the ADMB software.
In 2007, scientists from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa Pelagic
Fisheries Research Program and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna
Commission, in consultation with scientists from NOAA Fisheries, created
the non-profit ADMB Foundation with the goal of increasing the number of
ADMB users by making the software free and open source.
During its first year of operation, the UH Pelagic Fisheries Research
Program provided a home and logistical support for the Foundation. In
partnership with NOAA Fisheries and the National Center for Ecological
Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), the Foundation drafted a proposal to the
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, to acquire the copyright to the ADMB
software suite, in order to make it broadly and freely available to the
research community. A generous grant from the Moore Foundation to NCEAS
enabled an agreement with Otter Research Ltd. to open the ADMB source.
ADMB has proven to be an essential tool for a wide range of statistical
analysis, especially in fisheries stock assessments. With its recent
emergence as free software, it is likely that ADMB will find application
to a growing number of challenges in ecological modeling.
Many top fisheries scientists have testified to the importance of ADMB
for creating sound stock and management models:
“Thanks to ADMB, it is no longer necessary to omit or transform data
because they do not meet the arbitrary assumptions of some ‛canned’
software package. Instead, it is possible to include a diversity of data
in statistical models. This power has revolutionized modeling of natural
resources.” Dr. John Sibert, Manager, Pelagic Fisheries Research
Program, University of Hawaii.
“It is no exaggeration to say that the scientific assessment of many
fisheries would grind to a halt without ADMB. There are hundreds of
other applications for this tool that will undoubtedly benefit greatly
by making it a public piece of software.” Professor Ray Hilborn, School
of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, University of Washington.
“ADMB has empowered an entire generation of fishery stock assessment
scientists.” Dr. Richard Methot, Senior Scientist for Assessments, NOAA
Fisheries.
“Without ADMB, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission would be
unable to conduct the sophisticated [tuna stock] assessments that it
currently does.” Dr. Mark Maunder, a Senior Scientist at the
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.
Creation of the public download web site is only the first step in
making all aspects of ADMB publicly available. Over the next year, a
team of software developers will improve documentation of the computer
code with the goal of making ADMB an open source enterprise. Releases of
binaries (executable code) for the Windows and Linux operating systems
are currently freely available, with a port to OS X to follow.
Ultimately, the full source code will be available, enabling researchers
to contribute their own enhancements and add-ons, using the code
repository and support forums established on the ADMB project web site
(http://admb-project.org).
More information on ADMB Project and Foundation can be found at
http://admb-project.org and http://admb-foundation.org.
The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, established in 2000, seeks to
advance environmental conservation and cutting-edge scientific research
around the world and improve the quality of life in the San Francisco
Bay Area. For more information, visit www.moore.org.
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Download ADModel Builder from http://admb-project.org
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is. Yogi Berra
John Sibert, Manager
Pelagic Fisheries Research Program
University of Hawaii at Manoa
1000 Pope Road, MSB 313
Honolulu, HI 96822
United States
Phone: (808) 956-4109
Fax: (808) 956-4104
Skype: john.sibert
PFRP Web Site: http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/PFRP/
email: [log in to unmask]
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