Dr Nicola Walker
Senior Fisheries Scientist
Nicola is a senior fisheries scientist with over 10 years’ experience in developing mathematical and statistical models for marine research.
Nicola joined Cefas in 2013 after obtaining a first-class degree in Mathematics and a PhD in Marine Biology, both from the University of Essex. At Cefas, she leads, conducts, and develops mathematical and statistical analyses to support fisheries management. Her modelling experience spans data-limited and complex data-rich assessment methodologies for fisheries management; models for single-species, multi-species, and mixed fisheries; and ranges from the level of the individual to populations and ecosystems.
Nicola provides advisory support on the assessments of marine fish stocks to national and international marine management organisations. She is actively involved in several ICES working groups and has responsibility for the assessment of the North Sea cod stock. She has good knowledge of species ecology and has contributed to the development of methods and management approaches for sensitive species, including long-lived elasmobranchs, and short-lived pelagic stocks. She also has expertise in modelling movement and environmental effects using individual-based models and is the facilitator for data-limited methods within Cefas.
Nicola's work interests include: quantitative assessment methods for fisheries management, data-limited assessment methodologies, management strategy evaluation, individual-based models, life-history considerations in fisheries modelling, fish movement and spatial approaches to modelling and assessment.
Publications:
Selected Publications:
Walker, N.D., García-Carreras, B., Le Quesne, W.J.F., Maxwell, D.L. and Jennings, S. 2019. A data-limited approach for estimating fishing mortality rates and exploitation status of diverse target and non-target species impacted by mixed multispecies fisheries. ICES Journal of Marine Science. 76: 824-836. data-limited approach for estimating fishing mortality rates and exploitation status of diverse target and non-target fish species impacted by mixed multispecies fisheries | ICES Journal of Marine Science | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
Walker, N.D., Maxwell, D.L., Le Quesne, W.J.F. and Jennings, S. (2017). Estimating efficiency of survey and commercial trawl gears from comparisons of catch-ratios. ICES Journal of Marine Science 74: 1448-1457. Estimating efficiency of survey and commercial trawl gears from comparisons of catch-ratios | ICES Journal of Marine Science | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
Walker, N.D., Boyd, R., Watson, J., Kotz, M., Radford, Z., Readdy, L., Sibly, R., Roy, S. and Hyder, K. (2020). A spatially explicit individual-based model to support management of commercial and recreational fisheries for European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax. Ecological Modelling. 431: 109179. A spatially explicit individual-based model to support management of commercial and recreational fisheries for European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax - ScienceDirect
