Question:
Why are there only annual landings? What happened to the monthly and gear queries?
Answer:
In order to protect the business information of those engaged in commercial fishing, it is necessary to aggregate or otherwise hide confidential data that were collected from fewer than the requisite number of vessels, fishermen and/or dealers. In most jurisdictions this is three of each, but it varies. Once data have been deemed confidential, they must remain hidden at all levels. Thus, if data are confidential at the monthly or gear level, they must remain so annually. Annual data are the most requested landings data, and preserving the most accurate and complete annual totals requires us to drop the monthly and gear online queries. Landings by month and gear are available by request from our regional data providers. Please see the Partners page for contact information.


Question:
How should I cite the data from this query in a publication?
Answer:
Please use the following format when citing this query: NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology, Commercial Landings Query, Available at: www.fisheries.noaa.gov/foss, Accessed mm/dd/yyyy


Question:
How else can I reformat my query results?
Answer:
After running your query, click on the “Format and Download” button. Under the “Format” menu there are many choices for sorting, highlighting, computing, and aggregating your data. Explore the options and, if you have any questions, please contact us using the “Comments and Questions” button on the left of the screen.


Question:
How do I download my results?
Answer:
After running your query, click on the “Download and Format” button and choose “Download” from the menu. There you can choose .CSV or HTML format for your data.


Question:
Can I create a chart in the new system?
Answer:
Yes! After running your query, click on the “Format and Download” button, select “Format”, then select “Chart” in the sub-menu. There you have the ability to choose the type of chart you want and what data from your query to use.


Question:
Why are these numbers different from what I got from ACCSP, GulfFIN, PacFIN, AKFIN, etc.?
Answer:
The data presented here may be different from our sources for a few reasons. On the Atlantic and Gulf coasts we use different sources for Highly Migratory Species (shark, tuna, billfish) and menhaden. We also aggregate some confidential landings differently in order to be as consistent as possible between our data sources nationwide.