MARMAP Plankton Survey Manual

The Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (MARMAP) a National Marine Fisheries Service program providing information in support of marine fishery resources management. MARMAP encompasses the collection and analysis of data to provide basic information on the composition, location, abundance, and condition of the commercial and recreational marine fishery resources of the United States (NMFS 1971 and 1973; TRt✓ 1973a and 1973 b). The principal elements of MARMAP include resource surveys, analyses of commercial and recreational fish catches and the environment of fish stocks, (fishery oceanography). Each of these elements is important for fisheries resource assessment. Data analysis tasks combine the results of surveys, catch statistics, biometric data (age, growth, fecundity, recruitment~ and mortality rates) plus information on environmental and food chain conditions to produce updated stock assessments. MARMAP is presently being conducted from each of four strategically located NMFS Fisheries Centers headquartered at Woods Hole, Massachusetts; Miami, Florida where it is called SEAMAP for Southeastern Area Monitory Assessment and Prediction Program; La Jolla, California; and Seattle, Washington.