At-Sea Ipad Mobile Data Collection Application Development and Implementation

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), with assistance from the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), has conducted the Sport Groundfish Onboard Sampling Program since 2001. Biologists sample aboard 90-100 charter trips annually, collecting data such as discarded fish lengths, numbers of fish discarded and kept by species, disposition of discarded fish, gear descriptions, and GPS coordinates of fishing locations. Information derived from the data  includes average weight of discarded fish, length distributions for prohibited species such as Yelloweye Rockfish, and spatially- and temporally-explicit catch rates, discard rates, and size compositions. At-sea sampling is the only source for much of this information, which is important for stock assessments and fishery management. Through the 2014 sampling season, data were recorded on paper forms and later manually entered into a database. For 2015, ODFW and PSMFC embarked on a mobile data collection effort, with support from the NOAA Fisheries Marine Recreational Information Program, designed to streamline data capture (particularly during fast-paced fishing activity) and improve data quality. This presentation will cover the specifics of the modernization project, detail the iPad-based collection approach, and discuss special considerations for at-sea data collection and lessons learned.