PacFIN Brief for 1980

[Complete 1980 PSMFC Annual Report (pdf)]

Pacific Coast Fisheries Data Committee

The Pacific Coast Fisheries Data Committee, formerly called the Committee on Goals and Guidelines for Regional Fisheries Data Consolidation, completed an updated analysis in July 1980 on the design and development of a data system to facilitate the exchange of fisheries information on the Pacific Coast. The Committee, composed of participating staff members from Pacific Coast State and Federal fisheries agencies, the Pacific and North Pacific Fishery Management Councils, and PMFC, developed plans to implement a Fishery Information Network (FIN) that will utilize data processing facilities at NMFS, Northwest and Alaska Fisheries Center in Seattle, Washington.

The initial computer system study for the FIN began in February 1980 and was developed by Electronic Data Systems (EDS) of Dallas, Texas, under contract to NMFS, Southwest Fisheries Center, La Jolla, California. Its purpose was to 'analyze alternative systems which would best (achieve) aggregation, formatting, and communication of (fisheries) data collected at State and NMFS levels.' The Committee reviewed the final report by the contractor and recommended immediate implementation of Phase I of the proposed program. Phase 1 of the FIN continues oversight responsibilities of the Committee, to include the hiring and supervision of a Systems Designer/ Manager, and provides for the production of timely reports of groundfish landing data by species categories as required for management under the MFCMA.

The recently-hired System Designer/Manager will design, develop, and administer the information system and computer responsibilities necessary for FIN implementation and support. Under Phase 1 guidelines, the FIN will combine groundfish landing data from California, Oregon, Washington with data furnished by NMFS on landings by foreign fisheries in the Fishery Conservation Zone, into a single data base capable of generating timely and useraccessible reports. A prototype of the FIN that will provide model reports and input requirements should be tested by July 1981, with Phase 1 completion planned for either late 1981 or early 1982. Subsequent Phases will incorporate data on other fisheries and on socioeconomic factors necessary for management. Financial support for the FIN, including assistance for the States of California, Oregon, and Washington to meet data production requirements, is provided through FY 1981 by NMFS, Northwest Region.

At the direction of the Committee and with assistance from participating fisheries agencies, Clarence Pautzke (former Assistant to the Executive Director, PMFC) prepared a Coastwide Data Financial Plan in 1980. That plan reviewed dollar commitments for fisheries data collection and processing by agencies in Washington, Oregon, and California, and projected funding needs in 1980-81 to achieve reasonable coastwide data sharing capabilities. This analysis documents anticipated total State and Federal expenditures in fiscal years 1981-83 averaging approximately $6.5 million per year. Nearly half (about 47%) are State funds, with the balance derived from an array of Federal programs. The Financial Plan indicates additional funding requirements of approximately $1.5 million per year for FY 1981-83, or an increase of approximately 23% over present commitments.