FaCeT uses satellite, in situ biological and fishery-based data streams to develop online products and applications that will allow fisheries managers to track dynamic distributions of species of interest, identify fishery-relevant climate anomalies, monitor fishery interaction and exploitation hotspots and integrate climate projections for climate-resilient fisheries management. The proposed products necessitate significant methodological advances, including (1) gear/fishery agnostic models; (2) model persistence; (3) forecast skill of both oceanographic and habitat models across short (days to weeks), medium (years) and long-term (decades); (4) effective data visualization and communication of uncertainty. We anticipate using FaCeT tools to assess the effectiveness of time-area closures, explore ways to reduce bycatch through directed fishing in areas of reduced bycatch-target species overlap, and to support climate-readiness in U.S. fisheries.
Ultimately, FaCeT seeks to understand species-environment and fishery interactions and project how these relationships will shift in a changing and dynamic ocean. Through consistent engagement with stakeholders, we aim to use the knowledge and tools developed in this project to create relevant products with and for fishery stakeholders to support sustainable, climate-resilient fisheries.