Our Researchers
Fish Stock Assessment, Ecological Statistics, Fishery Harvest Advice
Dr. Noel Cadigan is a quantitative fisheries scientist specializing in statistical methods for fish stock assessment and sustainable fisheries. He has extensive experience in the assessment of Newfoundland fish stocks, and experience with other Canadian, American and European stocks. He is the Ocean Choice International (OCI) Industrial Research Chair in Fish Stock Assessment and Sustainable Harvest Advice for Northwest Atlantic Fisheries at the Marine Institute.
Dr. Cadigan received a Doctor of Philosophy in Statistics in 1999 at the University of Waterloo, a master of applied statistics in 1993 and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in 1990 from Memorial University. He has 22 years (1990-2011) of work experience with Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Center in Newfoundland and focused on the assessment of Atlantic cod and other groundfish stocks. He continues to collaborate closely with DFO scientists in improving the assessments of important Northwest Atlantic fish stocks, with a recent focus on flatfish stocks.
His recent research includes developing state-of-the-art stock assessment models in a state-space framework in which all relevant productivity data for a stock is included. The model he developed for Northern cod was adopted by DFO and is now used to assess this important stock. Some of the advanced statistical methods Dr. Cadigan applied to Northern cod have also been used for other stocks.
In addition, Dr. Cadigan is also focused on including spatial processes in stock assessment and this has been a research focus for some of his recent students. Dr. Cadigan is interested in hierarchical multi-stock assessment methods and improving theory to support harvest advice.
A cross-appointed member within the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Memorial University, Dr. Cadigan has supervised graduate students in statistics whose research involved applications to stock assessment problems. To inquire on future opportunities, you may contact Dr. Cadigan directly.
- Overview of Statistical Stock Assessment (FISH 6004)
- Advanced Statistical Stock Assessment (FISH 6005)
Significant Publications:
Cadigan, N.G. 2016. A state-space stock assessment model for northern cod, including under-reported catches and variable natural mortality rates." Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 73(2), 296-308.
Cadigan, N.G. and Campana, S.E. 2016. Hierarchical model-based estimation of age-length keys for redfish (Sebastes mentella and S. fasciatus) off the eastern coast of Canada. ICES Journal of Marine Science, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsw195.
Cadigan, N.G and Wang, S. 2016. Local sensitivity of per-recruit fishing mortality reference points. Journal of Biological Dynamics. 10, 525-545. DOI: 10.1080/17513758.2016.1225831.
Cadigan, N.G., Wade, E., and Nielsen, A. 2017. A spatial-temporal model for snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) stock size in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2017, 74(11): 1808-1820, https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2016-0260.
Tulk, F, Cadigan, N.G, Brattey, J, and D Robert. 2017. Spatial synchronicity in recruitment of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) stocks off Newfoundland and Labrador and the Flemish Cap. Fisheries Research, 191: 49-59.
Rajeev Kumar, Noel Cadigan, and Joanne Morgan. Recruitment synchrony in spatially structured Newfoundland and Labrador populations of American plaice (Hippoglossoides platessoides). Fisheries Research. In press.
Van Beveren, E., Duplisea, D., Castonguay, M., Doniol-Valcroze, T., Plourde, S., and Cadigan, N. 2017. How catch underreporting can bias stock assessment and advice in northwest Atlantic mackerel and a possible resolution using censored catch. Fisheries Research. Fisheries Research, 194: 146-154, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2017.05.015.
