US Integrated Ocean Observing System: Improving Fisheries Observing Data Dissemination

ABSTRACT:

Datasets generated in scientific surveys conducted by fisheries agencies or via other surveys (e.g. fishery-independent data) are important information for agencies-specific stock/population assessment, fisheries management and research. Dissemination of these types of data has often been limited to the organizations conducting the surveys. Effort has been made to provide informatics services and expose these data to a wide community (e.g Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS), and Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)). Despite accomplishments in technology and community, and the increased accessibility of fishery-independent data, their scientific acceptability is often limited by a lack of reproducibility in data analyses and because many applications require richer data than currently supported by community services. For example surveys data are highly heterogeneous and the  variety of formats, logical structures, and sampling methods in fishery independent data create significant challenges. Here we describe an informatics framework for fishery-independent data that will expand information content and reconcile standards for the representation and integration of these biological observations for users to maximize  the value of these observing data. We further propose that the approach described can be applied to other datasets generated in scientific surveys and will provide a vehicle for wider dissemination of biological observing data.  We propose to employ data definition conventions that are well understood in Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) and to combine these with ratified Darwin Core terminology, policies and guidelines.