OBPRELIM: Observer Preliminary Data for Northeast Fisheries Monitoring

OBPRELIM is a preliminary database from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. It contains trip, haul, and discard data entered from paper logs collected on commercial fishing vessels, with built-in audit checks for data quality. The data is used for in-season quota monitoring and tracking slippage events in herring and longfin squid fisheries.

Use Cases

• Monitor in-season fishery quotas based on trip and haul-level data.
• Analyze discard rates and slippage events for herring and longfin squid fisheries.
• Assess incidental take of non-target species based on observer-collected data.
• Verify data quality for fisheries management decisions using built-in audit checks.

Strengths

• Data is collected by trained observers deployed on commercial fishing vessels.
• The system contains built-in audit checks to increase data quality.
• Data is used for in-season monitoring of quota-managed fisheries.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data is stored in PDF format, which may complicate direct analysis.

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce

Collection Method

Data entered from paper logs collected by observers on commercial fishing vessels.

Time Range

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Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 22:48:28.711314; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Northeast U.S. fisheries, including Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Mid-Atlantic regions.