Peter Koeller

Scientist Emeritus

Current research and/or projects

I am interested in the development of practical, precautionary, ecosystem approaches to fisheries management and in their application, in particular to the eastern Scotian Shelf shrimp (Pandalus borealis) stock. More recently I have worked on the phenology of P. borealis and phytoplankton using satellite remote-sensing to elucidate the mechanisms behind longstanding but unexplained correlations between shrimp abundance and environmental parameters. The results have direct applications in shrimp assessments incorporating environmental and ecosystem considerations. My contrasting experiences in the conservative discipline of stock assessment and the more progressive but often more theoretically-oriented field of fisheries science have also led to an interest in the philosophy and psychology of science (in addition to major headaches).

Education and awards

B.Sc., McGill, 1969

M.Sc., University of Victoria, 1974

Key publications

  1. Koeller, P.A., L. Savard, D. Parsons and C. Fu. 2000. A precautionary approach to assessment and management of shrimp stocks in the Northwest Atlantic. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 27:1-12
  2. Koeller, P., J. Bouthillier and S. Tveite (eds). (2000). Pandalid Shrimp Fisheries - Science and Management at the Millenium. Proceedings of the international NAFO/ICES/PICES symposium held in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, September 8-10, 1999. J. Northw. Atl. Fish. Sci. 27:381pp.
  3. Koeller, P. (2003). The lighter side of reference points. Fish. Res.: 62: 1-6.
  4. Koeller, P., M. Covey and M. King (2003). Is size at transition a measure of growth or abundance in Pandalid shrimp? Fish. Res. 65:217-230.
  5. Fuentes-Yaco, C., Koeller, P., Sathyendranath, S. and Platt, T. (2007) Shrimp (Pandalus borealis) growth and timing of the spring phytoplankton bloom on the Newfoundland-Labrador Shelf. Fish. Oceanog. 116-129
  6. Koeller, P., Fuentes-Yaco, C., and Platt, T. (2007) Decreasing shrimp sizes off Newfoundland and Labrador – environment or fishing? Fish. Oceanogr. 16(2):105:115
  7. Koeller, P., M. Covey and M. King (2007). Biological and environmental requisites for a successful trap fishery of the northern shrimp Pandalus borealis. Proc. N.S. Inst. Sci.44:51-7.
  8. Koeller, P. (2008). Ecosystem-based psychology, or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the data. Fish. Res. 90: 1-5.
  9. Koeller, P., K.D. Friedland, C. Fuentes-Yaco, G. Han, D. W. Kulka, J. O’Reilly, T. Platt, A. Richards, M. Taylor. (2009). Remote Sensing Applications in Stock Assessments. IN Remote Sensing in Fisheries and Aquaculture: The Societal Benefits. IOCCG Rep. No. 8. pp. 31-58.
  10. P. Koeller, C. Fuentes-Yaco, T. Platt, S. Sathyendranath, A. Richards, P. Ouellet, D. Orr, U. Skúladóttir, K. Wieland, L. Savard, M. Aschan (2009). Basin-Scale Coherence in Phenology of Shrimps and Phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean. Science: 324 (5928) pp. 791 – 793.