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Global Fisheries Atlas
The Global Fisheries Atlas Virtual Lab offers an integrated view of global fisheries to support decision-making and resource management. It follows recognised standards for data and knowledge management, and it remains accessible to users interested in fisheries data, whether for research, policy, or general understanding.
The Virtual Lab is built around two main components: the Fisheries Atlas and the Global Record of Stocks and Fisheries (GRSF).
The Fisheries Atlas provides a structured spatial data infrastructure. It stores and shares fisheries data in line with OGC standards and assigns Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) through Zenodo. Its main application, the Global Tuna Atlas, is developed in partnership with FIRMS (a collaboration between FAO and tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations).
The GRSF compiles and harmonises data on fisheries and fish stocks using standard unique identifiers. It draws from four sources: FIRMS (FAO), FishSource (Sustainable Fisheries Partnership), the RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database, and the FAO SDG14.4.1 Questionnaire. This approach ensures a consistent view of fisheries data at the global level.
The platform includes regularly updated datasets on catches, stock assessments, and management measures from established institutions. Users can access these data and apply several tools for analysis and interpretation, including interactive maps, visualisation layers, and modelling features.
The VLab offers specific services such as a resource catalogue to retrieve and group datasets, a triplestore that enables SPARQL queries to the semantic knowledge base (GRSF), and a MapViewer for spatial visualisation using multiple data layers.
By combining structured data access with analytical tools, the Virtual Lab supports users in evaluating fisheries information and developing evidence-based management strategies.
Services
The Resources Catalog enables the retrieval, grouping, and visualization of datasets and records (i.e. fisheries records).
The Triplestore enables access over the contents of semantic web knowledge bases (i.e. GRSF knowledge base) using W3C standards (i.e. through a SPARQL endpoint).
The MapViewer supports the visualization of information on a map using multiple layers.
The Runtime Environment is a tool to reproduce or customise the execution of R code in a shared RStudio.