A major area of development concerns the use of tagging data in the optimization approach of tuna population dynamics. Combining tagging data with SEAPODYM age-structured population model leads to augmentation of the model state vector through inclusion of variables describing the density of the cohorts of tags. The primary objective is to improve the estimation of habitat and movement parameters.

Electronic tagging data are used as multiple release-recapture data between  consecutive positions of individual tracks at the resolution of the model.

The Oceanic Fisheries Programme has conducted several large tagging experiments providing a precious dataset that will be used in the optimisation

Color maps: average spatial distributions of adult skipjack biomass (mt/km2) predicted by SEAPODYM as an optimal solution of parameter estimation using catch and length information (on the left) and catch, length and tagging data (on the right).