Global Analysis of Shallow Underwater Fish Observation Research: 70 Years of Progress, Persistent Geographic Biases and a Path Forward

ABSTRACT Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by overfishing, pollution, coastal development and climate change, underscoring the need for long‐term, representative information on key fish populations and habitats to inform management and policy. Underwater fish observation (UFObs) techniques, such as Underwater Visual Census (UVC), stereo‐Baited Remote Underwater Video (stereo‐BRUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), play a key role in sustaining long‐term data collection. Despite technological advancements, gaps persist in understanding research focus, geographic distribution and methodological biases inherent in these methods. We conducted a scientometric analysis of 1443 peer‐reviewed publications (1953–2023), employing natural language processing and network analysis to map the research landscape. We identified 15 knowledge clusters, including marine protected areas, apex predator conservation and reef ecosystems. Our findings reveal increasing use of BRUVS and ROVs in studies of marine protected areas and subsea infrastructure, while UVC remains prevalent in shallow coral reef research. Geographic representation is skewed, with the field dominated by researchers based in Australia and the United States, and underrepresented in Africa and Southeast Asia. This imbalance highlights the need for more inclusive, globally coordinated monitoring and reporting. Our results underscore the urgency of standardising protocols within each observation method and developing interoperable reporting frameworks across techniques to maximise data comparability and foster international collaboration. Addressing these challenges will strengthen the field's capacity to inform global conservation strategies and support sustainable fisheries management.

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Publication Details

Journal
Fish and Fisheries
Published
2026-02-15
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1111/faf.70072
Primary Topic
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Global Analysis of Shallow Underwater Fish Observation Research: 70 Years of Progress, Persistent Geographic Biases and a Path Forward

Luther Adams, Jacquomo Monk, Elodie Heyns-Veale, Ella Clausius et al.
Fish and Fisheries
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
article

Global Analysis of Shallow Underwater Fish Observation Research: 70 Years of Progress, Persistent Geographic Biases and a Path Forward

Luther Adams, Jacquomo Monk, Elodie Heyns-Veale, Ella Clausius, Katherine Tattersall, Jonathan S. Lefcheck, Eva Maire, Anthony T.F. Bernard, Pascale Chabanet, Amanda T. Lombard, Jordan S. Goetze, Kaylee P. Smit, Fernanda Andreoli Rolim, Laura Ghigliotti, Paul Whomersley, Alejandro Pérez‐Matus, Joanna K. Schmid, Peter Walsh, Tim Langlois, Russell Brainard, Melita Samoilys, Christy Semmens, M. Aaron MacNeil, Reiji Masuda, Angus John van Wyk, Ana Carolina, Rick D. Stuart‐Smith
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Marine ecosystems are increasingly threatened by overfishing, pollution, coastal development and climate change, underscoring the need for long‐term, representative information on key fish populations and habitats to inform management and policy. Underwater fish observation (UFObs) techniques, such as Underwater Visual Census (UVC), stereo‐Baited Remote Underwater Video (stereo‐BRUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), play a key role in sustaining long‐term data collection. Despite technological advancements, gaps persist in understanding research focus, geographic distribution and methodological biases inherent in these methods. We conducted a scientometric analysis of 1443 peer‐reviewed publications (1953–2023), employing natural language processing and network analysis to map the research landscape. We identified 15 knowledge clusters, including marine protected areas, apex predator conservation and reef ecosystems. Our findings reveal increasing use of BRUVS and ROVs in studies of marine protected areas and subsea infrastructure, while UVC remains prevalent in shallow coral reef research. Geographic representation is skewed, with the field dominated by researchers based in Australia and the United States, and underrepresented in Africa and Southeast Asia. This imbalance highlights the need for more inclusive, globally coordinated monitoring and reporting. Our results underscore the urgency of standardising protocols within each observation method and developing interoperable reporting frameworks across techniques to maximise data comparability and foster international collaboration. Addressing these challenges will strengthen the field's capacity to inform global conservation strategies and support sustainable fisheries management.

Fish and Fisheries
CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere (AU), Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (AU), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR), University of Tasmania (AU), Dalhousie University (CA), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (BJ), University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (US), Ifremer (FR), Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (CL), The University of Western Australia (AU), Universidade de São Paulo (BR), Curtin University (AU), National Institute of Technology, Maizuru College (JP), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (FR), Coastal Oceans Research and Development in the Indian Ocean (KE), Penta-Ocean Construction (Japan) (JP), Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (FR), Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (AU), Reef Environmental Education Foundation (US), National Research Council (IT), Fishwell Consulting (Australia) (AU), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR), Lancaster University (GB), South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (ZA), Nelson Mandela University (ZA)
American College of Emergency Physicians, National Research Foundation, Rhodes University, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity
Openalex Percentile: Top 60%
Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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