Mapping fish in the UK has historically received little attention but there is now great potential to map fish populations by leveraging over a million anglers visiting UK waters each year. Recent apps have been developed to record fish observations and make the data available, recognizing that engaging anglers through citizen science could provide valuable data while respecting their existing recording practices. The specific recording method is less important than making any collected data openly accessible.

1. Mapping fish at the UK scale: present and potential
Ian J. Winfield 1 & David B. Roy 2
1 Lake Ecosystems Group, CEH Lancaster
2 Biological Records Centre, CEH Wallingford

2. 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

3. Mapping and ‘biological recording’ at the UK scale
• Individual records
• National recording schemes
• Biological Records Centre (BRC)
• National Biodiversity Network (NBN)

4. 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)

5. 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

6. Mapping fish in the future
• BioBase
• FINS
• Fishbrain
• National Biodiversity Network

7. 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

8. BioBase
2012 2013 2014
Freq Occurrence 85% Freq Occurrence 95% Freq Occurrence 81%
Biovolume 40% Biovolume 53% Biovolume 37%

9. 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

10. 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

11. FINS
• FishingInfo National Science
• Produced by Cefas, UK
• Supported by Angling Trust
• Supported by Environment
Agency
• Currently in beta testing
• www.cefas.co.uk

12. 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

15. 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

16. Fishbrain

17. Fishbrain

18. Fishbrain

19. National Biodiversity Network

20. 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