Developing and enhancing the systems for data collection, integration, and reporting for fisheries management processes
The amount of data that we have captured through the work of our members and partners over the years is extensive. Some of these data were originally stored on paper, but now as we have advanced our capture and storage technologies, we can record them on cloud-hosted databases.
Our data management team work to develop and enhance systems for data entry, management, quality control, visualisation and reporting. The tools that have been developed enable the standardisation of the data collected, which is vital to the scientific analyses and research that we provide to support our members’ management processes.
As the use of the internet has increased throughout the Pacific, the collection and manipulation electronically (e-data) has become more prevalent. This makes data management more efficient and robust. Within the coastal fisheries sector, this has also seen an increase and we have been able to extend the use of some of our apps, such as TAILS, for coastal fisheries data collection, as well as developing other apps for coastal fisheries data entry and analysis.
Data entry
We have developed the following tools to assist our members with their fisheries management and reporting obligations.
TUFMAN2
The Tuna Fisheries Data Management system - TUFMAN2 - is a cloud-hosted, web database developed for Pacific Island Countries to manage their tuna fishery data. It has been developed over many years and has evolved from a simple system to one that is becoming a comprehensive integrated web-based tuna data management tool.
TUFMAN2 supports and integrates many types of tuna fisheries data and supports the major gears (longline, purse seine, pole-and-line) as well as artisanal vessels. It also receives data directly from a number of SPC-developed tablet-based E-reporting tools, including:
- The TAILS mobile device app, used to collect various data from artisanal fisheries;
- The ONBOARD app, used to collect logbook data onboard Longline vessels;
- The ONSHORE app, used to collect port sampling data from longline vessels;
- The OLLO app, used to collect observer data from longline vessels.
All of our E-reporting systems are fully integrated into TUFMAN2.
Data reporting and visualisation
T2 Reports
The T2 Reports tool is a secured online reporting interface, integrated into TUFMAN2 to produce a wide range of reports, allowing its registered users access to tuna fisheries data from SPC member countries. Together, these support mapping of fisheries data and facilitate the production of figures and tables specifically for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) reporting template.
CES
The Catch and Effort Query System (CES) allows member countries to extract summaries of operational logsheet data, aggregate public-domain catch and effort data, and annual catch estimates. Authorised users have the possibility to build their own data extraction by filtering and aggregating the data the way they want, which makes CES a handy data analysis tool. It is commonly used to produce tables, graphs and maps for member-country National Fisheries Reports.
PREVIEW
The PREVIEW (SPC Public Reference Data Viewer) online tool has been designed to try to centralise essential reference data from most major fisheries related bodies, such as SPC, FFA, WCPFC, FSMA or FAO. A secure password protected web site allows permitted users to review the following data:
- SPC generic reference tables (country list, field staff list, gear type, ports, species, species range)
- SPC conversion factors
- SPC observer data codes (fish condition, fate codes, gear interactions, units)
- SPC/WCPFC/FFA/FSMA vessels definition lists
- FAO ASFIS species list
Guest users can also register and have access to limited non confidential resources such as generic references and conversion factors.
