AKRO/SF: Blend System

The Blend was the system used by the NMFS Alaska Regional Office to monitor groundfish catch from 1991 until 2002. The Blend system combined data from industry production reports and observer reports to make the best, comprehensive accounting of groundfish catch. These data were used to manage quotas for groundfish in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands. The blend catch data were also used as the basis for computing estimates of prohibited species bycatch. Prohibited species include Pacific halibut, salmon, herring, and crabs. Blend data were used for numerous regional and national reports, fishery stock assessments, and analysis of fishery management plans.

The Blend system used a combination of industry reports and observer data. For shoreside processors, Weekly Production Reports (WPR) submitted by industry were considered the best source of data for retained groundfish landings. All fish delivered to shoreside processors were weighed on scales, and these weights were used to account for retained catch. Observer data from catcher vessels provided the best data on at-sea discards of groundfish by vessels delivering to shoreside processors. Discard rates from these observer data were applied to the shoreside groundfish landings to estimate total at-sea discards from both observed and unobserved catcher vessels. For observed catcher/processors and motherships, the WPR and the Observer Reports recorded estimates of total catch (retained catch plus discards). If both reports were available, the Blend System selected one of them for incorporation into the catch database. If the vessel was unobserved, only the WPR was available.

In 2003, the Catch Accounting Sytem was implemented and took advantage of industry reports at a more detailed level, especially from shoreside processors. The Blend system was based on weekly data from processors and was not capable of accounting for some management programs -- including cooperatives, sideboards, complex seasonal allocations, Harvest Limit Area quotas, and quotas assigned to vessels of a particular size class. The Catch Accounting System replaced the Blend as the tool used by the National Marine Fisheries Service to estimate total catch in the groundfish fisheries off Alaska.

The Blend was the system used by the NMFS Alaska Regional Office to monitor groundfish catch from 1991 until 2002.

Access to sensitive data shall only be granted to an individual that meets certain criteria. Access can only be granted to an individual if a signed and effective Confidentiality Agreement, Data Access Sharing Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, Standard Statement of Nondisclosure, or similar agreement is in place. These signed agreements shall indicate that individuals have reviewed and understand the provisions in the manual governing the legal use of sensitive data. The signed agreements are maintained by the Alaska Regional Records office. The name of each individual that has signed a statement of nondisclosure for using sensitive data will be added to the Alaska Region list of authorized confidential data users.

The Blend data are sensitive under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (2007) and can only be shared with authorized persons or in summary format for public dissemination.

Production data submitted by fax were reviewed by NMFS staff prior to data entry. Processors and vessels were contacted for clarification on missing or questionable data. Source data were also validated against business rules when they were loaded into NMFS' Oracle working tables and transferred into final tables. Exceptions were flagged that did not meet business rule requirements.

IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Alaska Region in Juneau, Alaska, following a disruption.

The Blend used a combination of industry reports and onboard observer information to provide an estimate of total catch and bycatch. Industry reported data consisted of shoreside and at-sea processed product amounts (production reports).

Production report data were submitted by fax or electronically as files from email attachments. Data submitted by fax were sorted and data entered by NMFS staff into the NMFS Alaska Region database. Data submitted as files in email attachments were uploaded into the NMFS Alaska Region database.

Observer data were collected by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) using a stratified sampling design. Data were extracted from the AFSC observer program database using the Observer Interface and imported into the Alaska Region database.