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Western Pacific Fisheries Information Network Data Portal

November 14, 2018

The WPacFIN data portal allows users to query non-confidential fisheries data to assess and compare landings, catch, species, location, and methods for commercial fisheries in the Pacific Islands.

The WPacFIN data portal helps provide access to the best available fisheries data for fishery managers, researchers, and fishermen. Fisheries managers within these organizations use this data to help determine and implement regulations for domestic and international fisheries in the Pacific. Users can query WPacFIN data by landings, catch, effort, species, island, survey method, and dataset.

  • Total Landings by Area Query: A time series summary of total landings by species or group for each island area selected. 
  • Catch, Effort and Catch per Unit Effort (CPUE) by Selected Gears Query: A time series summary of selected parameters by gear type.  Output includes estimated weight landed (pounds), estimated effort (measured as trips for boat-based fisheries and gear-hours fished for shore-based methods), and CPUE (pounds per unit effort 
  • Species Comparison Query: A comparison of multiple (5 max.) species or species groups, (summed in terms of estimated commercial pounds, pounds kept, or commercial value).
  • Island Comparison Query: A comparison of island areas in terms of estimated commercial pounds or commercial value of species (individuals or groups)
  • Method Comparison Query: A comparison of methods (boat-based creel survey, shore-based creel survey, or commercial fisher-reported data) on a specific island in terms of effort (number of trips) or landing (estimated pounds kept).
  • Dataset Comparison Query: A comparison of a specific species among  datasets (commercial dealer data, boat-based creel survey, shore-based creel survey, or commercial fisher-reported) by island.

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WPacFIN non-confidential data summaries, available from User Queries, are derived from five data collections.

Commercial Dealer Data (Vendor Purchases from Fishers): These data represent the amount of locally caught fish purchased directly from fishermen by fish markets, seafood vendors, fishing cooperatives, and other "first-fish dealers." Each island agency collects vendor reports to monitor commercial invoice and purchase activity.

Boat and Shore-based Creel Surveys: In American Samoa, Guam, and CNMI, fisheries are not required to report their catch. In order to monitor fishing activity in these areas, creel surveys are conducted by local agencies to produce estimates of annual fisheries landings (pounds of fish brought ashore), fishing effort (e.g., number days, trips, hours fished), and catch per unit of effort (CPUE) by gear type or fishing method. Boat-based creel survey data is collected by interviewing fishers (usually at boat ramps as they return from a trip) who fish from a boat. Shore-based creel survey data is collected by interviewing fishers along shoreline areas that are reasonably accessible by surveyors. Average activity is estimated using expansion algorithms.

Commercial Fisher-Reported Data: In the Pacific Islands region, only Hawaii's commercial fishers are required to report their catch. A commercial fisher is any person who sells all or part of their catch. Commercial fishers are required to report all fishing activity and landings (including any unsold landings).

WPacFIN's Best Estimated Landings: WPacFIN's best estimated commercial landings are based on a combination of data sources for each island area. Currently, only American Samoa and Hawaii have a "WPacFIN's Best" estimate.

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WPacFIN’s primary fisheries management clients include the Pacific Islands Regional Office, the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council, and other Pacific regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs). Fisheries managers within these organizations determine and implement regulations for domestic and international fisheries in the Pacific. The Pacific Islands Region is comprised of American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, and other U.S. Pacific islands.

Last updated by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center on 01/04/2022

Pacific Islands Commercial Fishery Data