Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program

Scientific justification: Canadian and US stock assessments for Atlantic cod indicate considerable fluctuation in stock abundance and recruitment over the last 20 years. This recovering resource is regulated on a stock-by-stock basis, with varying management measures in place. Since the 1920s, a number of small-scale, independent tagging studies were conducted, but each varies considerably in spatial and geographic coverage, tagging technique, and the information collected. Furthermore, information was rarely shared between programs. The Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program was initiated to study cod movements using a standardized technique on a region-wide scale, whilst

simultaneously achieving international collaboration between fishermen and scientists. The data will compliment future stock assessments by providing current information on movement patterns and growth in the Gulf of Maine and neighboring waters.

Technical objectives (prioritized):

1) Identify the migration patterns of Atlantic cod throughout the Gulf of Maine and neighboring

Canadian and US waters;

2) Identify the extent of mixing between cod in these water bodies;

3) Obtain in situ growth increment information;

4) Investigate the roles of temperature, depth and reproductive condition on migration and

growth.

NEFSC Data Access Procedure:

1. Formal request in writing usually to the data owner/contact or Center Director;

2. Requester is contacted by data owner to review and verify the request content and details for data delivery options.

3. If data is confidential then owner will determine if the data may be released to the requester;

4. If data can be released, the data is downloaded and packaged for delivery electronically; or the requester may be directed to where the data is available online.

NEFSC Data Access Constraint:

If data is stored on an internal NEFSC network, the requester may not have direct access to query the data unless they are also authorized for network access.

Oracle Database on Centralized Network Storage

Location, vessel, and PII data has been redacted.

Significant automated quality control (QC) tools was built into numerous fields allowing the data to be error checked as it was entered. GMRI verified or “approved” the data entered by program partners before committing it to the database. Recaptures were entered solely by GMRI, and again underwent a QC approval process.

Data will be archived once a solution for archiving relational data sets is defined

Archival of source data preserving unaltered collected data, Scheduled backups, Remote storage backups, Password protection

Data management of the NRCTP data was initially undertaken by GMRI, the contracted data “clearing house”. Each program partner entered their tag release data via a password protected, online, custom-made, relational database which was developed in SQL Server. This online database avoided the need for software updates for the multiple program partners as the database evolved and increased in sophistication. Significant automated quality control (QC) tools was built into numerous fields allowing the data to be error checked as it is entered. Program partners then “submitted” their data in order that

GMRI could verify or “approve” it again, before committing it to the database. Recaptures were entered solely by GMRI, and again underwent a QC approval process.