Regional Ocean Data Sharing Initiative: Updating Commercial Fisheries Data on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portals
The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) partnered with the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), to obtain feedback from the commercial fishing industry on potential improvements and updates to map and data products on the Northeast Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portals (Portals) that show the use of ocean space by the industry. This included MARCO and NROC collaborating on a work plan for the use of each region’s FY19 Regional Data Sharing appropriation to engage ocean data portal users and the commercial fishing industry.
The goals of this project included increased collaboration with the fishing industry on the development of products that represent their interests and improved fishing industry trust in regional data products and the data that are being used to inform decisions.
A project final report “Updating Commercial Fisheries Data on The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal” summarizes the data that are housed on the Portals, the process for engaging the commercial fishing industry, and the feedback from the industry on potential improvements and updates. It also notes which updates and improvements have already been initiated. Other updates will continue to be scoped and advanced in 2021.