MARIS: 20 Years and Counting Developing Data Standards

The basis for the Multistate Aquatic Resources information System (MARIS) was established more than 20 years ago by establishing the simple objective of sharing data that could lead to the evaluation of status and trends of fish populations across broad geographic and geopolitical scales.  Immediately thereafter began the task of identifying data elements, and standards for reporting those elements, that could contribute to meeting this objective.  In the decades since, these data standards have been refined to allow acquisition of data from a growing number of databases contributed by 23 states and to assist MARIS users in interpreting these data.  However, development of data standards for compiling fisheries information from existing and disparate sources may differ significantly from developing standards for data acquired through a newly initiated sampling program.  The implications of this, as well as other experiences and lessons learned from the past twenty years, will be discussed.