Integrated Capture Information System (ICIS)

As for the ICIS community, D4Science-specific collaborations have been established with projects/initiatives/working groups which cooperate with the ICIS community. The following are the most significant ones:

• WorldFish Center. As a part of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the WorldFish Center carries out research-for-development to improve small-scale fisheries and aquaculture. D4Science participants WorldFish and FAO are two important actors in fisheries sustainability that have different focuses and different data that combined can help fisheries scientists and managers make more informed decisions. Several meetings have taken place between WorldFish and FAO representatives to detail the scenarios, datasets, schedules and arrangements for cooperation. WorldFish was also present at the 1st ICIS requirements gathering meeting held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 10-13 June 2008.
• NAFO - Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. This Regional Fisheries Body (RFB) manages one of the most productive marine areas in the world and is recognized for the leading role they have played within their community in pushing the boundaries of new technology to fulfil their mandate. Holders of important finegrained statistical data on fish captures and vessel movements, their data combined with coarser FAO data improves the ability of scientists to make stock assessments, model ecosystems and monitor biodiversity. There have been several meetings between NAFO and FAO representatives to discuss how best to share data and reference data within the ICIS VO as well as looking towards the future of using fine-grained vessel monitoring system data. NAFO was also present at the 1st ICIS requirements gathering meeting held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 10-13 June 2008, in which they reiterated their strong interest in being part of the project.
• ICES - International Council for the Exploration of the Seas. This Regional Fishery Body coordinates and promotes marine research in the North Atlantic. Providing times-series data and assessments for over a hundred commercially important species it is the oldest intergovernmental organisation in the world concerned with marine and fisheries science. They regularly gather, store, disseminate and analyze statistical fisheries data. The link between FAO and ICES provides an important conduit of basic information on the state of many commercially important species. ICES and FAO have been in regular contact since February 2008, receiving information on their data services, and information on their assessment data. ICES was also present at the 1st ICIS requirements gathering meeting held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 10-13 June 2008
• EuroStat - The Statistical Office of the European Communities. This group is the statistical arm of the European Commission. The storehouse for ICES data and EC member countries fisheries data, they are peripherally involved in the project as a data service provider. This involvement could be of great future benefit to FAO as EuroStat holds and disseminates a wide-ranging set of statistics coming from the EU’s member states, while also acting as a standards and harmonization body. Contact has been made with Head of Fishery Statistics Section, and discussions are ongoing to define and use common standards and services such as SDMX (Statistical Data and Metadata Exchange) for time-series data in order to ease data harmonization in D4Science and other projects.
• NEAFC - North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission. This Regional Fishery Body was formed to recommend measures to maintain the rational exploitation of fish stocks in the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. An organization with a strong focus on Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data as a method to control fishing effort, they have expressed their strong interest in D4Science. FAO has agreed to keep them informed as to project progress, and to involve them more fully when ICIS moves in future steps towards VMS data.
• CWP - Coordinated Working Party. The Coordinating Working Party on Fishery Statistics (CWP) provides a mechanism to coordinate fishery statistical programmes of regional fishery bodies and other inter-governmental organizations with a remit for fishery statistics. Functional since 1960, the CWP's purpose is to continually review fishery statistics requirements for research, policy-making and management; agree on standard concepts, definitions, classifications and methodologies for the collection and collation of fishery statistics; make proposals for the coordination and streamlining of statistical activities among relevant intergovernmental organizations. In July 2008 D4Science and the ICIS case study were presented to the CWP during an intersessional meeting. It was agreed that the CWP would monitor progress, be informed by the ICIS group as to developments, and would give advice and make recommendations as the case study advances.
• FIRMS (Fisheries Resources Monitoring System) - The primary aim of the Fishery Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) is to provide access to a wide range of high quality information on the global monitoring and management of fishery marine resources. The partnership draws together a unified group of international organizations and regional fishery bodies collaborating within a formal agreement to report and share information on fisheries resources. For effective fisheries information management, FIRMS also participates in the development and promotion of agreed standards. D4Science was presented to the 2nd FIRMS Technical Working Group meeting in Rome in April 2008, and again to the FIRMS Steering Committee meeting in Halifax in July 2008. Members expressed interest in the initiative and asked to be kept informed as to its progress.