Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide the ability to build and

maintain an inventory of anything on the earth or any information that is tied

to a location. One may ask the question – Why is GIS important? Simply put,
because location matters.

Jack Dangermond, co-founder of the Environmental Systems Research

Institute (ESRI), said – “When you put it on a map, people get it”.

Any location on the earth has massive amounts of data tied to it, which not
only include physical features, but political, economic and social data, as well.
GIS facilitates the process by which we can visualize, analyze and understand
this data.

Remote sensing is one of the methods commonly used for collecting physical
data to be integrated into GIS. Remote sensors collect data from objects on
the earth without any direct contact. They do this by detecting energy
reflected from the earth, and are typically mounted on satellites or aircraft.
Remote sensing technology has become much more prevalent, accurate and
accessible in recent years, and covers a wide range of engineering
applications.

First, engineers use remote sensing to help them determine the topography of
our earth. Three-dimensional images of the earth’s surface (shown in Figure
1) can be generated using LiDAR, which stands for Light Detection and

Ranging.

LiDAR sensors use pulsed lasers combined with position and orientation data
to collect dense groups of elevation points called point clouds. These point
clouds can then be processed into contours and digital elevation models
(DEMs) representing the shape of the earth. Engineers can use a DEM to
calculate a very quick and fairly accurate estimate of the volume of earth-
moving necessary to develop a tract of land.

Remote sensing is also used to monitor land use, which aids engineers and
planners in making decisions during the course of a design project. Optical
sensors measure the solar radiation reflected from the surface of the earth.
The different wavelengths detected are combined, resulting in an image that
resembles a photograph taken by a camera of the earth’s surface.
Figure 2 shows the progress of development over a 14-year period around
Katy, Texas.

Finally, remote sensing is used in hydrologic applications such as measuring

the area of impervious surfaces. Impervious surface datasets are generated
by classifying different bands in images collected by optical sensors. This can
be done since different materials reflect visible and infrared light in different
ways.

Houston’s rapid increase in population over the recent years has brought with
it an explosion in the amount of roads, rooftops and parking lots that drape
the landscape. This puts increased pressure on the environment by adding to
the pollution of Houston’s bayous and further exacerbating urban flooding.

Engineers utilize impervious surface datasets, such as the example shown in

Figure 3, to help monitor this growing issue.

As computing technology advances, so does the quality and quantity of data

available to engineers. GIS has become an integral tool in many industries as
a way to utilize this data to its fullest potential.

n “stating our case” as to the relevance of both RS and GIS in making a contribution to the future
success of both aquaculture and inland fisheries, it has become clear that, for a number of reasons, a
brief conclusion is in order.

Firstly, the two subject areas (RS and GIS) have tended to be treated separately-we need to make it
clear that the two areas have a degree of “mutuality”. Secondly, we are very conscious that certain
barriers remain to an easy progression for the whole field of automated location analysis, and these
are very worthy of a reminder. Thirdly, we feel it essential that a reinforcement is made of some of
the more important practical systems adoption considerations. This is largely a result of the
complexity of the subject matter and because of the rapid changes which are now taking place in both
GIS and RS. This leads us to belive that a number of recommendations are in order.

When RS was first envisaged and activated in the 1960s and early 70s, there was a sense in which the
object of the science was simply to obtain a “picture of a place”. The picture (image) might have a
number of uses which were primarily concerned with identification, spatial proportion, aerial
estimation, etc., and the number of usable images was limited by technical processing limitations,
resolution problems and cloud cover. So the frontiers of RS had distinct limitations. The proliferation
of GIS in the late 1970s, with its rapid ability to make use of RS images in a number of ways, and
indeed its frequest fundamental need for imagery as a primary data source, plus the ability of RS to
capture a wider range of images through the use of more varied sensors and an increased
effectiveness in data extraction, has enabled the two disciplines to help each other and to broaden
their raisen d'être. This mutual adoption was a highly necessary step if RS was to have an assured
future. From the perspective of aquaculture and inland fisheries it is especially significant, since over
the next decade we will be seeking to optimize fish production in a variety of locations, many of which
are certain to be in areas which are remote or poorly mapped and for which the “real time” digitized
data emanating from RS sensors will prove absolutely invaluable.

Though much of what we have previously explained on the more theoretical aspects of RS may have
been useful with regard to process explanation and understanding, when the use of RS as a means of
data acquisition is adopted then it is the acquisition procedures themselves which are of paramount
importance. Specter (1989) has set out an excellent summary on the barriers to imagery acquisition,
as faced by many developing countries, and he foresees considerable investments being made in
money and expertise during the next decade with a view to improving the RS technology and data
transfer systems to those areas. Significant reductions in the price of products would seem an
essential pre-requisite for increased RS uptake, as would assistance in training and education in
technology use.

With the advent of more “players” on the RS scene, then it is likely that increased competition will be
beneficial in not only reducing prices but also in increasing the range and quality of images available.
We recommend that potential RS users make every effort to “shop around” for suitable imagery.
Cordell and Nolte (1988b) were able to verify that a huge quantity of RS data was available, i.e. from
different satellites, for different times, at different resolutions and from various sources. With this
data proliferation then, if sufficient or regular quantities of RS imagery are required, we suspect that
tendering or contracts could be entered into so as to achieve cost advantages. And in searching for
suitable imagery sources we would make a reminder that aircraft photographic sources could prove
invaluable, especially in situations of micro-scale location analysis.

With regard to GIS we feel it important to re-inforce a number of separate practical issues and to
make specific recommendations

Uses for the GIS. In section 6.7.1 we made it clear that considerable planning should be undertaken
regarding the desired applications for the GIS. Relative to aquaculture and inland Fisheries this will
mostly cover considerations of optimizing production locations, a task which will also encompass an
analysis of production function variability. However, with imagination the utility of a GIS can be
greatly enhanced. Examples of added investigations include:

Planning for water body resource zonation.

Recording of existing ecological variability.
Zonation mapping of aquatic species.
Answering “what if” questions, i.e. if planned changes affecting water bodies were to be
implemented.
Temporal/spatial studies of meat/fish consumption or production changes.
The likely effectiveness of various marketing strategies.
The impact on production of temporal or spatial changes in input sources.
The impact of communication or infrastructural changes on production location.
The environmental impact of intensifying fish production.
Spatial inconsistencies in the demand/supply balance.
The recognition of core areas where the diffusion of fisheries innovation might spread from.
As well as the potential uses identified it is important not to forget that changes in the scale at which
GIS investigations are applied will allow for a variety of different potential uses.

How best could the GIS be implemented. Very great care needs to be given to the “levels” of
implementation of the system. We would strongly recommend that a “top down” approach is used,
i.e. rather that individual small departments setting up their own systems. With a “top down”
approach there will be expertise and hardware available, sufficient resources for experimentation, the
likelihood of some data archives and the backing of the management who are likely to be responsible
for further GIS investments. Also future developments can expand in such a way that data structure,
hardware, software, etc. is compatible, standardized and thus available for integration, and rapid
expansion can occur, if necessary, both within and between departments.

The inter-disciplinary nature of the GIS team. We have spoken at length on the complex nature of all
our subject matter, and we have noted (in section 6.7.6) the recommendations for having personnel
from several disciplines in any team setting up a GIS. Here we would stress that, for the successful
functioning of a GIS at a significant scale not only is it essential that a variety of experts in obvious
fields are assembled but that these experts are able to have clear access to both the staff who make
the GIS function (digitizers, programmers, etc.) and to a variety of other personnel such as data
archivists, representatives of mapping houses, software and hardware companies and perhaps
specialist consultants. Though these personnel might be expensive “luxuries” for the more remote
fisheries offices, their accessibility should be well documented.

Knowledge of data sources. We have shown that a major problem for GIS in general is the accessibility
to, and knowledge of, data sources. It seems that the barriers to instigating centralized and accessible
digital data archives are almost insurmountable, i.e. regardless of country or theme. Because data
acquisition is so expensive it behoves the GIS planner to investigate thoroughly requisite sources. We
recommend that at least one member of any GIS team should be given specific responsibility for data
acquisition. This member needs to be familiar with likely digital sources, with data distribution
networks and with mapping and tabular sources both in his own country and preferably abroad.

The thoroughness of data capture and structure. The output from any GIS can only be a function of
the data which has been input to the system, and it follows that weaknesses in the data will
progressively replicate themselves in an exponential way with increasing use of the data. We strongly
recommend that from the outset of GIS planning, considerable attention is given to the personnel and
procedures necessary for ensuring that any data used is thoroughly reliable. Systems will need to be
worked out to optimize the verification, correction and/or updating of data. Data accessing, digitizing
and other capture procedures should be carefully considered and monitored, and thought must be
given to the structuring of the data so as to ensure its efficient storage, integration potential as well as
its ease of management.

Keeping abreast of developments. The reader cannot fail to have grasped that developments within
the total sphere of GIS are taking place extremely rapidly. This pace of change will be manifest along
three parallel continuums:

What it is technically possible for a GIS to accomplish.

How a GIS can physically function.
The cost of implementing and using a GIS.
We must therefore emphasize the importance of keeping abreast of these developments. This may
mean a commitment to a number of strategies including attending relevant courses and/or
conferences, subscriptions to academic or trade journals, membership of professional associations,
the acquisition of promotional literature and of being aware of what other companies, organizations
or associations are doing.

To conclude this study we quote from Tomlinson (1989 - p.291–292) - “As space becomes more
crowded, place becomes increasingly important. The public is expected to demand greater
government involvement in such complex problems, thereby increasing both the responsibilities of
government and the numbers of people addressing the issues. There will be more players with
complex, interlocking spatial problems. There will be an increased demand for GIS capabilities at all
levels of government, reflecting local, regional, national, multinational; and global concerns…” The
application of RS and GIS to aquaculture and inland fisheries can be our contribution to meeting these
needs.