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FishBase

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FishBase
Content
DescriptionA large and extensively accessed biological database about fish
Data types
captured		Comprehensive species data, including taxonomy, biometrics, behaviour, distribution, habitats and photos
OrganismsAdult fish species (finfish)
Contact
Research centerGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel,FishBase Consortium coordinator
AuthorsDaniel Pauly,Rainer Froese
Access
Websitefishbase.us
Tools
StandaloneHistoric versions available on CD
Miscellaneous
LicenseCC-BY-NCfor data; various levels of licensing for media files (pictures, sounds,...) to be checked case by case
VersioningEvery even month of the year
Data release
frequency		Continuously updated
VersionLatest version: 02/2024
Curation policyFishBase Consortium
Bookmarkable
entities		Yes

FishBaseis aglobal species databaseoffishspecies (specificallyfinfish).[1]It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on adult finfish on the web.[2]Over time it has "evolved into a dynamic and versatile ecological tool" that is widely cited in scholarly publications.[3][4][5]

FishBase provides comprehensive species data, including information ontaxonomy,geographical distribution,biometricsandmorphology,behaviour and habitats, ecology andpopulation dynamicsas well as reproductive, metabolic and genetic data. There is access to tools such astrophic pyramids,identification keys,biogeographicalmodelling and fishery statistics and there are direct species level links to information in other databases such asLarvalBase,GenBank,theIUCN Red Listand theCatalog of Fishes.[6]

As of February 2024,FishBase included descriptions of 35,600speciesand subspecies, with 329,500common names,64,000 pictures, and references to 61,700 works in thescientific literature.The site has about 700,000 visits per month.[7]

History[edit]

The origins of FishBase go back to the 1970s, when the fisheries scientistDaniel Paulyfound himself struggling to test a hypothesis on how the growing ability of fish was affected by the size of their gills.[8]Hypotheses, such as this one, could be tested only if large amounts of empirical data were available.[9]At the time,fisheries managementused analytical models which required estimates for fish growth andmortality.[10]It can be difficult forfishery scientistsand managers to get the information they need on the species that concern them, because the relevant facts can be scattered across and buried in numerous journal articles, reports, newsletters and other sources. It can be particularly difficult for people in developing countries who need such information. Pauly believed that the only practical way fisheries managers could access the volume of data they needed was to assemble and consolidate all the data available in the published literature into some central and easily accessed repository.[9][11]Such a database would be particularly useful if the data has also been standardised and validated.[9]This would mean that when scientists or managers need to test a new hypothesis, the available data will already be there in a validated and accessible form, and there will be no need to create a new dataset and then have to validate it.[12]

Pauly recruitedRainer Froese,and the beginnings of a software database along these lines was encoded in 1988. This database, initially confined to tropical fish, became the prototype for FishBase. FishBase was subsequently extended to cover allfinfish,and was launched on theWebin August 1996. It is now the largest and most accessed online database for fish in the world.[9]In 1995 the firstCD-ROMwas released as "FishBase 100". Subsequent CDs have been released annually. The software runs onMicrosoft Accesswhich operates only onMicrosoft Windows.

FishBase covers adult finfish, but does not detail the early and juvenile stages of fish. In 1999 a complementary database, calledLarvalBase,went online under the supervision of Bernd Ueberschär. It coversichthyoplanktonand the juvenile stage of fishes, with detailed data on fisheggsandlarvae,fishidentification,as well as data relevant to the rearing of young fish inaquaculture.Given FishBase's success, there was a demand for a database covering forms of aquatic life other than finfish. This resulted, in 2006, in the birth ofSeaLifeBase.[9]The long-term goal of SeaLifeBase is to develop an information system modelled on FishBase, but including all forms of aquatic life, both marine and freshwater, apart from the finfish which FishBase specialises in. Altogether, there are about 300,000 known species in this category.[13]

Organization[edit]

As awareness of FishBase has grown among fish specialists, it has attracted over 2,480 contributors and collaborators. Since 2000 FishBase has been supervised by a consortium of nine international institutions. The FishBase consortium has grown to twelve members. TheGEOMAR – Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research for Ocean Research Kiel(GEOMAR) in Germany, functions as the coordinating body[14][15]and, since February 2017, Quantitative Aquatics, Inc. functions as the administrative body.[16]

The FishBase Consortium
TheGEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kielcoordinates the FishBase Consortium[17]
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki,Thessaloniki, Greece[18]
Chinese Academy of Fishery Science,Beijing, China
Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries,University of British Columbia,Vancouver, Canada
Food and Agriculture Organization,Rome, Italy
Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle,Paris, France
Royal Museum for Central Africa,Tervuren, Belgium
Swedish Museum of Natural History,Stockholm, Sweden
WorldFish,Penang, Malaysia
Universidade Federal de Sergipe,São Cristóvão – SE, Brazil
University of Western Australia,Perth, Australia
Quantitative Aquatics, Incorporated,Laguna, Philippines

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Froese R and Pauly D (eds) (2000)FishBase 2000: concepts, design and data sources.ICLARM. Philippines.
  2. ^Marine Fellow: Rainer FroeseArchived21 December 2013 at theWayback MachinePew Environment Group.
  3. ^Stergiou KI and Tsikliras AC (2006)Scientific impact of FishBase: A citation analysisArchived8 October 2011 at theWayback MachineIn: Palomares MLD, Stergiou KI and Pauly D (eds.),Fishes in Databases and Ecosystems.UBC Fisheries Centre,Research reports14(4): 2–6.
  4. ^References Citing FishBaseFishBase. Last modified 5 July 2010. Retrieved 20 July 2011.
  5. ^Humphries, Austin; Dimarchopoulou, Donna; Stergiou, Konstantinos; Tsikliras, Athanassios; Palomares, Deng; Bailly, Nicolas; Nauen, Cornelia; Luna, Susan; Banasihan, Lyra; Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (2023)."Measuring the scientific impact of FishBase after three decades"(PDF).Cybium.47(3): 213–224.doi:10.26028/cybium/2023-002.
  6. ^Gert B and Snoeks J (2004)"FishBase: encyclopaedia and research tool"Page 48, VLIZ Special Publication 17, Brugge, Belgium.
  7. ^According to theFishBaseweb page, accessed November 2023.
  8. ^Bakun A (2011)"The oxygen constraint"Pages 11–23. In: Villy Christensen and Jay Maclean (Eds.)Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries: A Global Perspective,Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-13022-6.
  9. ^abcdePalomares MLD and Bailly N (2011)"Organizing and disseminating marine biodiversity information: the Fishbase and SeaLifeBase story"Pages 24–46. In: Villy Christensen and Jay Maclean (Eds.)Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries: A Global Perspective,Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-13022-6.
  10. ^Monro JL (2011)"Assessment of exploited stock of tropical fishes: an overview"Pages 171–188. In: Villy Christensen and Jay Maclean (Eds.)Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries: A Global Perspective,Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-13022-6.
  11. ^LarvalBase: A Global Information System on Fish LarvaeArchived28 March 2012 at theWayback MachineAmerican Fisheries Society,Early Life History Section Newsletter, May 2002,23(2): 7–9.
  12. ^Froese R (2011)"The science in FishBase"Pages 47–54. In: Villy Christensen and Jay Maclean (Eds.)Ecosystem Approaches to Fisheries: A Global Perspective,Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-13022-6.
  13. ^SeaLifeBase – home pageArchived14 August 2011 at theWayback Machine.Retrieved 21 July 2011.
  14. ^FishBaseHome page. Retrieved 28 November 2018
  15. ^"Ecology, Population Dynamics, and Fisheries: FishBase".IFM-GEOMAR, Kiel. Archived fromthe originalon 24 March 2012.Retrieved27 January2014.
  16. ^"About Us – Quantitative Aquatics, Inc".Retrieved22 September2023.
  17. ^Leibniz Institute of Marine SciencesArchived7 July 2011 at theWayback Machine(IFM-GEOMAR). Main web site.
  18. ^Fishbase and Aristotle UniversityArchived27 March 2012 at theWayback MachineAristotle University of Thessaloniki,5 August 2006.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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