FLR: an open-source framework for the evaluation and development of management strategies

TLDR

FLR is an open‑source framework designed to evaluate fisheries management strategies by integrating diverse biological, ecological, statistical, mathematical, economic, and social models. The project aims to create a common platform that facilitates interdisciplinary collaboration and ensures new modelling methods and software are easily validated, evaluated, and widely available. FLR implements and links various fishery, biological, and economic software packages through object‑oriented programming, allowing alternative management strategies to be assessed for robustness to uncertainty and extended to new processes and approaches. The authors highlight that open source promotes transparency and enables technology transfer across disciplines and researchers.

Abstract

Abstract Kell, L. T., Mosqueira, I., Grosjean, P., Fromentin, J-M., Garcia, D., Hillary, R., Jardim, E., Mardle, S., Pastoors, M. J., Scott, F., and Scott, R. D. 2007. A., Poos, J. J., Scott, F., and Scott, R. D. 2007. FLR: an open-source framework for the evaluation and development of management strategies. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 64: 640–646. The FLR framework (Fisheries Library for R) is a development effort directed towards the evaluation of fisheries management strategies. The overall goal is to develop a common framework to facilitate collaboration within and across disciplines (e.g. biological, ecological, statistical, mathematical, economic, and social) and, in particular, to ensure that new modelling methods and software are more easily validated and evaluated, as well as becoming widely available once developed. Specifically, the framework details how to implement and link a variety of fishery, biological, and economic software packages so that alternative management strategies and procedures can be evaluated for their robustness to uncertainty before implementation. The design of the framework, including the adoption of object-orientated programming, its feasibility to be extended to new processes, and its application to new management approaches (e.g. ecosystem affects of fishing), is discussed. The importance of open source for promoting transparency and allowing technology transfer between disciplines and researchers is stressed.