Data Portals and Data Modernization in the New England Groundfish Fishery
Partner: Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance
The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance (CCCFA) seeks to support greater accountability and data modernization in the New England groundfish fishery through two strategies. First, industry EM participants want a clear pathway for EM and industry-provided data streams to be incorporated into stock assessments. CCCFA worked with a consultant to develop a report that explores the current use of EM and industry-generated data for stock assessments, and provides recommendations for advancing the use of these data streams in New England stock assessments.
Second, CCCFA has been interested in developing a community-centered data management system that could provide industry with access to fishery dependent information and business tools, while also sharing select data products externally to support science and management objectives and data interoperability in the region. CCCFA conducted outreach meetings with industry and developed a publicly available Data Portal Prototype and developer’s guide. The project materials are available on GitHub and could be used by NMFS, industry, and service providers as building blocks for other community data portals. This work also helps move the concept of a community data portal closer to reality and demonstrates the fishing industry’s growing expectations for accessing and utilizing their fishery-dependent data.