Frequently Asked Questions

• How often is data in PacFIN updated?
• What does nominal (nom.) mean with regards to fish species?
• What does a blank mean on reports?
• What does a 0 (zero) mean on reports?
• What is the Confidential Data Access Policy?
• How do I cite PacFIN data?
• Where does PacFIN data come from?

How often is data in PacFIN updated?

Data in PacFIN is updated based on when we receive datafeeds from our data providers. Data can be updated on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly or annual basis. The date at the top of each report tells you when that report was last generated. However, data can be updated at anytime if the data providers deem it necessary. Listed below are common frequencies for datafeeds.

• Oregon Fish Ticket Data - Monthly usually around the 15th of the month.
• Washington Fish Ticket Data - Monthly usually around the 15th of the month.
• California Fish Ticket Data - Bi-monthly usually around the 15th and end of the month.
• U.S. Coast Guard vessel data - Monthly
• Permit data from NOAA - Weekly
• Quota Species Monitoring Subsystem data -Weekly; Reports are posted weekly for total fleet and monthly for limited entry and open access fleet.
• ADFG/AKR Data - Monthly
• Inseason At-Sea Whiting - Daily or Weekly
• BDS - Variable
• Logbooks - Quarterly for WA and OR and Semi-annually for CA

What does nominal (nom.) mean with regards to fish species?

The nom. abbreviation refers to nominal. It is used when the catch has not been fully sorted to species. If say, Nom. Canary (CNR1) is used, it means the catch is primarily Canary, but there are a few other species in the mix. Initially, we get nominal data from fish tickets. Species and area proportions from port sampling are applied to some nominal catch to distribute the catch weight across actual species identifiers and the nominal catch amount decreases. Generally when working with the data, most folks use the species plus nom. species for total species (For example CNRY+CNR1 = Total Canary). There may also be discard catch included in the nom. category, however this is less common.

What does a blank mean on reports?

A blank in a report means that there is no data for that column/row.

What does a 0 (zero) mean on reports?

When a zero appears on a report, it means that there is catch for that species, however there is less than .1 metric tons of catch

How do I cite PacFIN data?

The following is a standard method of citing data obtained from the PacFIN system:

   “Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN) report #____,
   dated ________, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission,
   Portland, Oregon (www.psmfc.org).”

If the data was obtained using some method other than one of the
standard reports, then the "report #____" should be replaced by "retrieval":

   “Pacific Fisheries Information Network (PacFIN) retrieval dated _______,
   Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Portland, Oregon (www.psmfc.org).”

Where does PacFIN data come from?

PacFIN receives data from the following data providers.

• Shoreside fish ticket, logbook, biological and state vessel data from California, Oregon and Washington through their Fish and Wildlife Departments.
• We receive at-sea whiting data from NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
• We receive aggregated groundfish data from the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans
• We receive aggregated groundfish data from AKFIN for Alaska shoreside landings and the Alaska at-sea fleet.
• We receive boat registration data from the Oregon Marine Board and the Washington Department of Licensing.
• We receive limited entry permit data from NOAA Permits office.
• We receive vessel registration data from the US Coast Guard.