From the Introduction:
Modern fishery information systems are critical to achieving the full potential of the United States’ fisheries. Four years have passed since the Fishing Data Innovation Taskforce, a diverse coalition of fishery stakeholders, issued recommendations to elevate and address the most pressing data modernization needs. The resulting 2017 Improving Net Gains report spurred the creation of the Net Gains Alliance (NGA), an initiative to advance these recommendations through grant-making, convening, policy engagement, and constituency building. The Improving Net Gains report was also a driving force behind the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)’ recent release of the Fisheries Information Management Modernization (FIMM) Technical Memorandum, which demonstrates the Agency’s commitment to data modernization. This NGA retrospective reflects the progress and challenges NGA has seen to date as we begin a process to look ahead and envision what could be next.
