application, including Windows laptops, Android tablets and phones, iPads, and iPhones. Fran and four representatives fr
Fisheries Files
Su
mmer 2016
A vibrant source of fisheries data information for Atlantic coast fisheries decision makers, managers, and industry professionals
Maine Seafood Dealers Learn to Use Swipe Card System for Sea Urchin
Green Sea Urchin by Vilseskogen. 2008.
When the Maine sea urchin fishery opened on September 1, the transaction between urchin harvester and urchin dealer looked slightly different. This is because, beginning with the opening of the 2016 season, the state of Maine requires dealers to report sea urchin landings using the ACCSP’s swipe card-enabled dealer reporting system, eDealer/ mobile (eDr/mobile). Developed in collaboration with our partners Maine Department of Marine Resources (Maine DMR) and Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, eDr/mobile uses state-issued harvester swipe cards to identify harvesters and vessels as part of the dealer reporting process.
The system allows dealers to verify that a harvester is authorized to sell sea urchin before making a purchase. With the help of the information saved on the card, the dealer completes the electronic landings report and submits the data to the Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System (SAFIS). Maine Department of Marine Resources fishery managers can access this data for real-time quota monitoring and compliance tracking. In preparation for the launch, Fran Karp of Harbor Light Software hosted a hands-on training workshop to teach Maine seafood dealers how to use the new eDr/mobile system. Five dealers and several of their employees attended with a variety of devices and platforms on which they plan to run the application, including Windows laptops, Android tablets and phones, iPads, and iPhones. Fran and four representatives from the Maine Department of Marine Resources provided the attendees with user guides and worked with each individually, Cont. on p. 3
Letter from the Director
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ACCSP/ASMFC Host Communications Workshop 4 ACCSP to become ASMFC Program
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Bluefin Tuna Landings Now Reported Using eDR
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Advisory and Operations Committees Meet
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Fast Facts: Menhaden Landings
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Step 1: Harvester presents swipe card to dealer. Step 2: Dealer swipes card through card reader. Step 3: Dealer reviews harvester’s details (name, vessel, associated permits) Step 4: Dealer enters transaction data into electronic landings report. Step 5: Dealer submits report and prints/emails receipt to harvester. Step 6: Application submits data into SAFIS.
AT L A N T I C C O A S TA L C O O P E R AT I V E S TAT I S T I C S P R O G R A M
Who We Are & What We Do Staff
Committees
Philosophy
Program staff is dedicated to maintaining ACCSP standards and handling administrative and funding tasks of the Program, including outreach. • Michael S. Cahall, Director • Elizabeth Wyatt, Program Coordinator • Ali Schwaab, Outreach Coordinator
Since its inception, the ACCSP has been a committee-based organization. Committees are responsible for setting program policies and standards, deciding annual funding allocations, and planning and coordinating data collection and data management programs.
Vision
The Data Team works with partners to identify, transform, and audit data so they can be included in the Data Warehouse. They also provide data services by designing custom data requests and participating in stock assessments. • Julie Defilippi, Data Team Leader • Heather Konell, Data Coordinator • Joe Myers, Data Coordinator • Jennifer Ni, Information Systems Specialist The Software Team designs and builds the Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System (SAFIS), as well as internal systems that the Program manages or that support program activities. • Karen Holmes, Software Team Leader • Nico Mwai, Programmer The Recreational Data Program staff provides central coordination and data processing for the MRIP APAIS. They support the states in the conduct of the APAIS and the development of the ACCSP recreational data standards. • Geoff White, Rec. Program Manager • Coleby Wilt, Rec. Data Coordinator • Alex DiJohnson, Rec. Data Coordinator • Sarah Rains, Scan Technician Shared with the ASMFC is Ed Martino, Information Systems Manager.
Committees, composed primarily of representatives from the partners (listed on page 10), provide the framework for the collaborative processes that create and manage the standards and govern the Program. Technical committees create and manage the program standards with guidance from the Operations and Advisory Committees. The Coordinating Council provides general oversight to the Program and sets overall policies. • Coordinating Council Chair: Robert Boyles, SC DNR • Operations Committee Chair: Pat Campfield, ASMFC • Advisory Committee Chair: Jerry Morgan, CT-Rec • Biological Review Panel Chair: Nicole Lengyel, RI DFW • Bycatch Prioritization Committee Chair: Nicole Lengyel, RI DFW • Commercial Technical Committee Chair: Stephanie Iverson, VMRC • Information Systems Committee Chair: Anna Webb, MA DMF • Recreational Technical Committee Chair: Tom Sminkey, NOAA Fisheries • Outreach Committees - Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Communications Group: Chair: Tina Berger, ASMFC -Data Warehouse Outreach Group: -Vacant - SAFIS Outreach Group: Chair: Anna Webb, MA DMF
To be the principal source of fisheries-dependent information on the Atlantic coast through the cooperation of all program partners. Mission Produce dependable and timely marine fishery statistics for Atlantic coast fisheries that are collected, processed and disseminated according to common standards agreed upon by all program partners. Values • Accurate data are required for good fisheries management decisions. • Coordination and collaboration amongst the program partners are essential for success. • The Program must be responsive to the changing needs for fisheries data. • Processes must be open and transparent but confidential data must be protected. • Data shall be accessible and easy to use. • Responsibilities should be matched with available resources.
Volume 8, Issue 3
A Letter from the Director ACCSP continues to move forward with the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) and Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) on planned fishery-dependent data integration efforts. Working closely with our federal partners, staff are beginning to develop plans for the transfer of vessel trip reporting and data warehousing functions from GARFO and NEFSC to ACCSP. Initial steps include conducting a system workload and network utilization analysis to determine whether ACCSP will require Mike Cahall, ACCSP Director additional system or network resources- such as servers or disk storage- to handle the additional data. Federal contractors will also analyze the differences between NEFSC and ACCSP’s existing data warehouses to determine whether any changes or adjustments to the ACCSP Data Warehouse are needed for integration. Finally, ACCSP is coordinating with its federal partners to ensure that its ongoing SAFIS redesign project fits with the Northeast and Southeast visions of providing integrated data reporting. These are very exciting times for ACCSP. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of many of our Partners, the dream of seamless reporting and data distribution may be realized for many within the next few years.
continued from page 1... teaching each dealer how to set up and operate the system. Dealers learned how to save their favorite species, ports, and gear types in the application; set up their devices with the card readers; enter landings reports; connect their devices to printers; and print and email receipts for the harvesters. Once their systems were set up, dealers then conducted practice runs using a dummy account set up by Maine DMR. The workshop was, by all accounts, a success. The dealers readily grasped the new technology and began using it once the sea urchin season opened on September 1.
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Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program| Fisheries Files
ACCSP and ASMFC Host Communications Workshop In September, the ACCSP and ASMFC hosted the third Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Communications Workshop in Arlington, VA. The Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Communications Group was established in 2012 to bring together fisheries communication specialists from the Atlantic coast states, regional fishery management councils, and federal agencies in order to promote collaboration on fisheries science and management communication efforts. This year’s workshop focused on exploring opportunities for enhancing fisheries science and management communication through data visualization and mapping, citizen science initiatives, and storytelling. On the first day of the workshop, Jay O'Dell of the Nature Conservancy provided an overview of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council for the Ocean data portal, a toolkit for visualizing ocean data for the Mid-Atlantic region. Christine Taylor of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management discussed the Marine Cadastre, a joint initiative between BOEM and NOAA designed to provide direct access to marine data sets and maps. Christine provided examples of one of the initiative's most popular features: story maps produced with MarineCadastre data. These maps visually display data while also providing more
in-depth, textual descriptions. Those interested in producing story maps can use the free templates provided by ESRI with a free log in account. Amber Von Harten of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council concluded the first day of the workshop with an introduction to the SAFMC's Digital Dashboard and a discussion of her own experience producing story maps. Day 2 of the workshop focused on citizen science efforts and communication through storytelling. Calling in from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Jennifer Shirk presented best practices for the design and implementation of citizen science programs. She provided several examples of very successful citizen science programs, including Cornell's eBird application. Amber Von Harten introduced the SAFMC's new Citizen Science Blueprint, a council initiative to develop a citizen science program currently under development. Riley Morse covered several citizen science programs developed by the Gulf of Maine Research Insitute including Vital Signs, a program that partners Maine students with scientists to investigate the impact of invasive species on Maine's coast (see right image). Roger Wiggers discussed the evolution of the 4
Example of a story map on vessel anchoring from MarineCadastre.gov
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' popular saltwater tagging program over the course of its forty-year history. The workshop concluded with presentations on storytelling and science communication. Amy Freitag of the marine science blog Southern Fried Science taught participants how to incorporate the human dimension into science stories, while Lisa Tossey of the Delaware Sea Grant program demonstrated several digital technologies she employs in science storytelling, including virtual reality elements. The ACCSP and ASMFC would like to thank both our speakers and participants for another successful workshop. A full report will be released later this fall.
Volume 8, Issue 3
ACCSP to become an ASMFC Program Bi g changes are ahead for the ACCSP. At the spring meeting in May, both the ACCSP Coordinating Council and the ASMFC Executive Committee voted to merge the ACCSP with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The previously independent program will now become an ASMFC program, akin to the Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) and the Science Program. By bringing ACCSP under the Commission, Council and Committee members aim to increase the visibility of the program among partners and stakeholders, hopefully providing better leverage for ACCSP in state and federal legislative outreach efforts and encouraging greater participation by the states in coordinated data collection and management efforts. The transition should also improve coordination between fisheries data experts and the ASMFC policy staff, helping to ensure that the data are used appropriately. At the Commission’s summer meeting, Executive Director Robert Beal presented the draft ACCSP transition document to the Commission and
Coordinating Council. This document serves as a roadmap for the incorporation of ACCSP into the ASMFC, laying out the necessary steps and dividing them into short-term, midterm, and long-term stages.
Several minor changes will be made to the ACCSP committee structure in order to reduce redundancy between the AMFC and ACCSP committees, including renaming the ACCSP Executive Committee.
While the ACCSP will be integrated into ASMFC, it will maintain its identity for stakeholders and partners as the central fishery-dependent data entity for the Atlantic coast. The ACCSP will maintain its current website and branding.
The draft transition document can be viewed on the ACCSP website. The Commission is expected to vote on whether to approve the draft at its annual meeting in Bar Harbor this October.
Bluefin Tuna Landings now Reported using SAFIS eDR As of July 28, 2016, all Atlantic bluefin tuna landings are now being reported to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) via the ACCSP’s SAFIS eDealer (eDR) application. Recognizing the need for more accurate landings data, NOAA mandated the transition from paper-based dealer reporting of bluefin tuna landings to electronicspecifically through the eDR application- in a final rule issued June 28, 2016. Already in use by many Highly Migratory Species dealers for reporting other 5
species’ landings, eDR simplifies the reporting process by allowing dealers to enter and submit landings data online. This eliminates sources of error introduced by legibility issues and by the software used to process the faxed copies of landings reports. To prepare federal dealers for the transition, NOAA Fisheries hosted two public webinars, providing an overview of the application and answering dealers’ questions. A user guide is also available on the NOAA Fisheries website.
Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program| Fisheries Files
ACCSP Advisory and Operations Committees Hold Annual Joint Meeting in St. Petersburg, Florida The two committees met to discuss and rank the FY17 proposals in order to develop funding recommendations for the Coordinating Council, which will make the final funding decisions at the ASMFC's Annual Meeting this October. The ACCSP Advisory Committee and Operations Committee convened in St. Petersburg, Florida September 21-22 for their annual joint meeting. ACCSP would like to thank Beverly Sauls and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) for hosting the two-day meeting at the FWC's St. Petersburg facility.
Committee members were also presented with updates from each of the ACCSP technical committees. The final proposals can be found on the ACCSP website, along with past funded projects' reports. The proposals selected for FY17 funding will be announced early next year.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission staff provided committee members with a tour of the FWC's Saltwater Fish Age and Growth Lab, demonstrating how scientists prepare and age otoliths. The age data generated is crucial to the Southeast Regional Data Assessment (SEDAR). The otolith displayed above belonged to a black drum.
Fast Facts Atlantic Coast Menhaden Landings 2005-2015 Landings in live pounds
600,000,000
TAC of 170, 800 mt implemented
500,000,000 400,000,000 300,000,000 200,000,000 100,000,000 0
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 * Year Landed
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*preliminary
Volume 8, Issue 3
ACCSP Meeting and Funding Cycle Please note all meetings are subject to change and additional meetings of each ACCSP committee may be scheduled throughout the year as tasks are assigned. For the most up-to-date information on all committee meetings, please visit http://www.accsp.org/. For a general timeline of our annual funding cycle, please visit http://www.accsp.org/funding.htm. To be added to that distribution list, please email
[email protected]. If you have any questions or comments on this calendar, please contact Elizabeth Wyatt, Program Coordinator, at 703-842-0790.
Oct. 20-21
APAIS Wave Meeting
Baltimore, MD
Oct. 24-27
ASMFC Annual Meeting
Bar Harbor, ME
Oct. 26
ACCSP Coordinating Council Meeting
Bar Harbor, ME
Nov. 30
ACCSP Executive Committee
Conference Call
Nov. 15-17
NEFMC Meeting
Newport, RI
Dec. 5-9
SAFMC Meeting
Atlantic Beach, NC
Dec. 13-15
MAFMC Meeting
Baltimore, MD
Have you heard about... ACCSP and the ASMFC have been pulling together the latest fisheries news stories from our state and federal partners in a weekly online newsletter, the Atlantic Coast Fisheries News. SIGN UP HERE
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Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program| Fisheries Files
Program Partners
In 1995, representatives from 23 coastal resource agencies along the Atlantic coast signed a Memorandum of Understanding to become partners in the ACCSP. The program partners are implementing the ACCSP standards within their respective areas. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
NOAA Fisheries Service (NOAA) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (US FWS) Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) Maine Department of Marine Resources (ME DMR) New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NH FGD) Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife (RI DFW) Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJ DFW) Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DE DFW) Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) District of Columbia Fisheries and Wildlife Division (DC FWD) Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NC DMF) South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR) Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GA DNR) Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FL FWCC)
Editor’s Note: Fisheries Files is published by the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program. Its purpose is to report developments on ACCSP partner projects, the Data Warehouse, and SAFIS. This document is also used to communicate updates on ACCSP committees and staff. Please credit the Program when reprinting articles used in this newsletter. Anyone wishing to submit relevant information or articles is invited and encouraged to do so. Submissions may be sent to Ali Schwaab at alexandra.schwaab@ accsp.org. 8
