Executive summary
Despite the importance of data to NMFS’ mission, the agency does not publicly report on the state of its data infrastructure - the people, processes, policies, and products that enable NMFS to turn information into action. The Net Gains Alliance believes a critical part of supporting fisheries and ocean sustainability is making data infrastructure visible so it can be invested in and improved. This report assesses NMFS on 15 data modernization metrics, using information gathered through June 30, 2023. Of the 13 metrics we could evaluate, four are stalled, five are in progress, and four have been partially or fully achieved.
We describe each metric, discuss the challenges with current publicly available data, and make recommendations for future reporting on NMFS’s data modernization. At a time when the federal government is undergoing a digital transformation, with an emphasis on data as a strategic asset, NMFS should be capitalizing on opportunities to invest in data infrastructure. This includes being transparent about priorities and challenges so the broader ocean and fisheries community can track and support improvements. Regular public reporting on data modernization would help NMFS achieve its conservation and management goals, which in turn would help the industries and communities that rely on sustainable fisheries.
Background
NMFS is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s fisheries resources and habitats throughout 4.5 million square miles of the ocean. NMFS’ scientists and managers work with an extensive network of state, regional, tribal, and international partners to achieve their mission, connecting America’s $117 billion fisheries industry to the global seafood supply chain, creating recreational opportunities, and contributing to ocean sustainability worldwide.
All of this work requires trusted, timely, and accessible data across a wide range of topics, including biological survey data along with information on catch, effort, fishing location, and sales. Like many government agencies, NMFS has been working to modernize its data infrastructure, support a data-savvy workforce, and improve its knowledge products. NMFS needs to position itself to take advantage of technology advances that could improve the agency’s efficiency and capacity to fulfill its mission. Teams need to be able to work across organizational and information silos to address issues such as adapting to climate change impacts and coexisting with new Blue Economy activities like offshore aquaculture and energy development.
Data infrastructure is a combination of people and technology that’s often invisible from the outside. It can be easily taken for granted until it breaks and, like the operating system on a laptop or a bicycle chain, it’s better to invest in maintenance and upgrades before that happens. The Net Gains Alliance believes making data infrastructure visible so it can be invested in and improved is an important part of supporting fisheries and ocean sustainability.
NMFS does not currently provide any public annual reporting on the state of its data infrastructure: people, processes, policies, products, or related impact goals. As a result, it can be difficult to understand why data investments are needed, where the needs are, and how past investments (or the lack of them) relate to current science and management capacity. In the absence of any agency-created metrics, we released a proposed set of progress metrics in August 2022, developed from expert interviews and a review of available NOAA and NMFS documents, including NOAA’s Data Strategy. We then held discussions of the metrics with NMFS staff at the national and regional levels, as well as with other members of the fisheries community including industry and Fishery Management Councils. We asked NMFS to report its progress against these metrics by July 2023. Our 2023 assessment reflects information we were able to gather from the agency and other public sources by June 30, 2023.
Discussion of the 2023 Assessment & Recommendations
We created fifteen metrics that both cover a range of aspects of data modernization issues and relate to NMFS’ ability to deliver services and meet its science and management goals. Some of our metrics were designed for one-time use to recognize specific accomplishments -- for example, implementation of the regional data governance programs -- while other metrics such staffing and professional development should be tracked on an ongoing basis.
Of the 15 metrics we chose:
4 were partially or fully achieved
5 are in progress
4 have stalled
1 is unknown/status could not be determined
1 we determined to be too broad to be measurable
While some of our metrics would need refinement to be measurable and meaningful over time, we also discovered that even relatively straightforward metrics were often difficult to track with current public reporting systems. A common theme from our community discussions was that people could recognize when data systems weren’t working but they could not always articulate why. NMFS’ history of opacity around how its data systems work, their strengths and limitations, and the potential for future improvements has created frustration as well as missed opportunities to grow champions for data modernization.
Ultimately, any public report on NMFS’ data modernization efforts relies on information generated and shared by the agency itself. Ideally, this would not be an additional agency reporting requirement but one that can draw from relevant metrics in existing programs, like the annual NMFS Fiscal Year Priorities reports or the forthcoming Fisheries Modernization Strategy: From Data to Decisions and Fisheries 2030 Vision. While the federated nature of NMFS regional offices and science centers means there will always be a variety of specific goals and capacity needs across the country, these national-level strategy documents can provide a standardized format for tracking data improvements and investments. For example, the agency could use its current focus on climate-ready fisheries to prioritize improved data workflows for using fisheries-dependent data in modeling, which would touch on improving data interoperability and data documentation and likely be implemented differently (but harmoniously) across regions.
While future data modernization metrics should tie to the impact goals and strategic priorities of documents like those listed above, we encourage NMFS to also look across those project-oriented goals for common data themes. The data governance committees should be a resource for those themes, as well as general principles like increasing FAIR data, improving data literacy, and providing transparency. Another source of regular public reporting could be the Fisheries Information System (FIS) program and its impact framework. FIS supports work both inside the agency as well as with FINs and state data partners, giving it a broad perspective on needs and priorities. FIS also supports internal capacity-building programs, like professional support groups on AI and data management. FIS would likely be a good long-term home for an annual public data modernization report.
This work by the Net Gains Alliance to identify and report against data modernization metrics is a one-time effort that we hope will inspire NMFS to take a more proactive approach to communicating its data modernization investments and needs. We are encouraged by the growing interest in and attention to NMFS’ data assets and need for data stewardship. NMFS can demonstrate its recent investments in data infrastructure and new data strategies are not just passing interests by committing to regular public progress reports.