Pacific Highly Migratory Species Data

This metadata portfolio contains information on Pacific Ocean HMS data maintained by NOAA Fisheries at its Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), Fisheries Research Division in La Jolla, CA. HMS species include; tunas, mainly yellowfin, skipjack, bigeye, albacore and bluefin; billfish, mainly swordfish, and marlins; and sharks, mainly mako, thresher and blue. The data may also include other tuna-like species, like wahoo and mahi mahi and marine mammals, birds and turtles that are caught incidentally. The data are collected from fishers, research vessels and port and observer sampling programs. While the majority of the data are from U.S. fisheries, some foreign fishery data are included.

This portfolio contains data catalogs, publications on the data, data collection guidelines, data submission guidelines, data management policies, and documentation of data coordination efforts. Summaries of the data are also included for you to view or download. Most of the un-summarized data are confidential and protected from release by various Acts and Treaties. These data are only available to NOAA Fisheries employees that have signed non-disclosure statements.

Any questions or problems with information on this site should be addressed to Al.Coan@noaa.gov.

The data listed here represent Highly Migratory Species (HMS) data collected and maintained by NOAA Fisheries (SWFSC, PIFSC, SWR, or PIRO) in the Southwest and Pacific Islands Regions. Included in the catalog are; metadata statements that provide information about the data set (contacts, formats, systems, size, element descriptions, etc.); data submissions that provide information on what, where, when, and how data are submitted to various organizations; reports/papers that were written about the various data sets (e.g. sampling program documentation, publications using the data set, system documentation, etc.); maps that describe the area being sampled (e.g. treaty areas, sampling area strata, etc); and queries that allow the user to obtain various summaries of the data set (geographical plots of fishing effort, catch time series, size frequency of fish caught, etc.).

Southwest Fisheries Science Center Data Confidentiality Policy applies to these datasets.