Fishing for Data
A conversation on data and confidentiality in the U.S. fisheries
Welcome to Fishing for Data, a podcast series that explores the governance of fisheries data under the Magnuson-Stevens Act & related data laws & policies.
What is the future of Electronic Monitoring (EM) in fisheries management?
Effective management of ocean resources is essential to sustain fisheries resources in the face of population growth, over-harvesting, and climate change. Such management requires accurate and reliable data. Toward this end, EM programs and tools aim to generate data that can inform management decisions, provide insights to fisherman, and ideally reduce costs and burdens for all involved. The implementation of EM programs raises certain questions, however, about the uses of EM data, about laws meant to protect the privacy and confidentiality of information collected by such systems, and about the design of the “smart boats” of the future. Fishing for Data is a four-part podcast series that aims to mediate a dialogue among various stakeholders on these key issues and more about the future of EM in fisheries management.
About this podcast series
Fishing for Data is produced by a legal, policy, and environmental science team of fellows from the Duke Center on Law & Tech and sponsored by the Net Gains Alliance, a nonprofit global initiative dedicated to better information for better oceans.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Music provided by Deep Sea by D SMILEZ as licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Fishing for Data – Episode 1
The privacy and data confidentiality concerns of fishing interests remain a key challenge facing the adoption of Electronic Monitoring in U.S. fisheries. Video monitoring and electronic reporting on boats generates substantial data, which fishing interests worry could, for example, become a Federal Record and thus be subject to Freedom of Information Act requests and accessed by members of the public. This episode introduces various stakeholders to the basic structure of data access and confidentiality issues under relevant laws and regulations. Even more, in order to add clarity to questions about EM moving forward, this episode integrates some of the most recent guidance from NOAA about how the agency analyzes these important data issues.
For more guidance on Fishing for Data – Episode 1, see this Podcast Guide (PDF), which includes a full transcript, table of contents, key terms, and links to associated resources.
Fishing for Data – Episode 2, Part 1
Among catch monitoring programs in fisheries management, interest accelerates for Electronic Monitoring (EM) and Reporting (ER) due to its capacity to monitor fishing more efficiently from time and cost perspectives. In the fisheries context, Electronic Monitoring includes a residential monitoring device aboard the fishing vessel, for instance a camera or activity sensor. The device tracks and records the fisher’s daily activity and catches. The collected video/data can incentivize better management of the fish resources and better compliance. Video data are collected by EM technology with fisheries management objectives in mind. However, progress in implementing the EM program is slow, in part due to concerns raised in the fishery industry over the potential for (in their view) unintended, environmental, and non-environmental secondary uses of the data. As recent incidents have illustrated, this video may serve other purposes to various stakeholders. The cameras aimed to monitor catch may record a crime that occurs onboard, may record information relevant to an insurance investigation, or provide information relevant to a host of third parties not originally contemplated when adding EM technology to the vessel. Thus, fishermen may expose themselves to potential inconvenience and even liability, far beyond the fisheries management and enforcement purposes.
For more guidance on Fishing for Data – Episode 2, Part 1, see this Podcast Guide (PDF), which includes a full transcript, table of contents, key terms, and links to associated resources.
Fishing for Data – Episode 2, Part 2
This episode is the continuation and last piece of our conversation on potential secondary usage of electronic monitoring data. The 2-part episode explores the second major topic of our broader program on Electronic Monitoring & Reporting: namely, the potential for secondary data usage (both planned and unplanned) beyond simply the fisheries management and enforcement objectives that inspired the installation of the gear. This piece explores all other private uses of the data. Speakers will dive into data sharing agreements negotiation and policies and presenting their haves & have nots. They also present some beneficial secondary uses of the data exploited by fishermen themselves.
For more guidance on Fishing for Data – Episode 2, Part 2, see this Podcast Guide (PDF), which includes a full transcript, table of contents, key terms, and links to associated resources.
Fishing for Data – Episode 3
This episode is the final part of the podcast series fishing for data. The term “electronic monitoring” is not defined outright in the definitions section of the MSA, 16 U.S.C. 1802 § 3. Rather, the term appears merely as a component of the statutory definition of “observer information”. Though there are clear benefits to utilizing EM technology in this context (both for fishermen and fisheries managers), the absence of a standalone definition for EM prevents the use of technological systems for a broader range of compliance and management goals. But not limited to those specific goals. Ocean expert Melissa Garren sees electronic monitoring program as a broad umbrella; meaning, that cameras can be combined with different sensors and used for a variety of purposes ranging from monitoring catch handling, catch quantity, catch composition, discards, ETP interactions, workplace safety etc. In fact, enabling a more use of technology, and moving toward a best-technology-available approach, in the fisheries world would likely enhance efficiency in fishing and fisheries management, including the rise of the smart boat.
For more guidance on Fishing for Data – Episode 3, see this Podcast Guide (PDF), which includes a full transcript, table of contents, key terms, and links to associated resources.
Fishing for Data – Episode 4
We hope you have enjoyed listening to the Fishing for Data Podcast Series with Duke, EM4.Fish and the Net Gains Alliance. This was the final wrap up Q&A session with hosts Duke Center for Law and Tech, the Net Gains Alliance, and EM4Fish, along with several of our expert panelists from the series; and explored many of the hot topics and pressing issues at the intersection of law and emerging technologies in support of better fisheries management. Read more about the panelists in our Episode 4 Podcast Guide PDF.
Cameron Adams holds a Master of Environmental Management with a concentration in Coastal Environmental Management and a certificate in geospatial analysis from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. His Masters research focused using drones to monitor coastal climate change on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. At Duke, Cam was an Orrin H. Pilkey Coastal Resilience Fellow and a Nicholas Scholar, and won the Virlis L. Fischer Award for Academic Achievement. He also received awards in advocacy and teamwork from the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.
Prior to Duke, Cam graduated with a BA with Honors in Earth and Oceanographic Science at Bowdoin College, where his honors thesis focused on the effects of increasing global temperatures on carbon fluxes in permafrost peatlands. He has served as a Research Analyst for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, an intern with The Nature Conservancy, an Environmental Specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and a Marine Geology Field and Data Technician for the Maine Geological Survey.
Kyle Medin is an attorney with Ellis & Winters, LLP in Raleigh and was formerly NC Legal Fellow at the Duke University Office of Counsel where, among other projects, he assisted the University to meet its renewable energy goals and tackle land use issues. As a member of the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Mr. Medin crafted and presented comprehensive policy proposal for local plastics reduction framework. He has served as a Law Clerk with Earthjustice in Tallahassee, FL and as a Legal Intern in Clean Air & Climate with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC.
A graduate of Duke Law School, Mr. Medin was Editor-in-Chief sof the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum and the Environmental Law Society’s Vice President of Finance. He holds a BS in Environmental Studies and a BS in Political Science from Florida State University.
Inès Ndonko Nnoko holds an LL.M. (Masters of Laws) with concentration in Environmental law and policy from Duke University School of Law, where she was the Judy Horowitz Scholar (full-tuition award), a member of the Environmental Law Society, the Black Law Student Association, the Womxn of color collective, and a pro bono volunteer for the Surfrider Foundation and Legal Aid of North Carolina. As a member of the Duke Law Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Ms. Ndonko represented NGOs on environmental policy and regulatory issues and advised local non-profits in plastic bags reduction management proposals.
Prior to her time at Duke Law, Ms. Ndonko earned a Masters of laws in International Business Law from University of Paris 2 Panthéon Assas, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and her LL.B. and B.A. in Political Science from the University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
Libba Rollins holds a Masters of Environmental Management with a concentration in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and a BA in Environmental Studies and Religion from Denison University, where her senior thesis was on “Liberating Life – Threads of Connection Between the Destruction of the Natural World and Social Justice.”
As a member of Duke Law’s Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Ms. Rollins coauthored a 115-page rulemaking petition for the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission on behalf of youth clients to establish a carbon dioxide inventory and budget rule for North Carolina in order to combat climate change and also researched, developed, and wrote the carbon dioxide budget rule in preparation for a hearing before the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission. She served as Science and Policy Editor for the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, which focuses on validating the scientific, policy, and economic aspects of articles for one of the nation’s top 10 environmental law journals. She has served as a Policy Advocacy Intern for Environment NC. She also has extensive technical fluency.
Cameron Adams holds a Master of Environmental Management with a concentration in Coastal Environmental Management and a certificate in geospatial analysis from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University. His Masters research focused using drones to monitor coastal climate change on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. At Duke, Cam was an Orrin H. Pilkey Coastal Resilience Fellow and a Nicholas Scholar, and won the Virlis L. Fischer Award for Academic Achievement. He also received awards in advocacy and teamwork from the Duke Environmental Law and Policy Clinic.
Prior to Duke, Cam graduated with a BA with Honors in Earth and Oceanographic Science at Bowdoin College, where his honors thesis focused on the effects of increasing global temperatures on carbon fluxes in permafrost peatlands. He has served as a Research Analyst for the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions, an intern with The Nature Conservancy, an Environmental Specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, and a Marine Geology Field and Data Technician for the Maine Geological Survey.
Kyle Medin is an attorney with Ellis & Winters, LLP in Raleigh and was formerly NC Legal Fellow at the Duke University Office of Counsel where, among other projects, he assisted the University to meet its renewable energy goals and tackle land use issues. As a member of the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Mr. Medin crafted and presented comprehensive policy proposal for local plastics reduction framework. He has served as a Law Clerk with Earthjustice in Tallahassee, FL and as a Legal Intern in Clean Air & Climate with the Natural Resources Defense Council in Washington, DC.
A graduate of Duke Law School, Mr. Medin was Editor-in-Chief sof the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum and the Environmental Law Society’s Vice President of Finance. He holds a BS in Environmental Studies and a BS in Political Science from Florida State University.
Inès Ndonko Nnoko holds an LL.M. (Masters of Laws) with concentration in Environmental law and policy from Duke University School of Law, where she was the Judy Horowitz Scholar (full-tuition award), a member of the Environmental Law Society, the Black Law Student Association, the Womxn of color collective, and a pro bono volunteer for the Surfrider Foundation and Legal Aid of North Carolina. As a member of the Duke Law Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Ms. Ndonko represented NGOs on environmental policy and regulatory issues and advised local non-profits in plastic bags reduction management proposals.
Prior to her time at Duke Law, Ms. Ndonko earned a Masters of laws in International Business Law from University of Paris 2 Panthéon Assas, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam and her LL.B. and B.A. in Political Science from the University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon.
Libba Rollins holds a Masters of Environmental Management with a concentration in Environmental Economics and Policy from Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, and a BA in Environmental Studies and Religion from Denison University, where her senior thesis was on “Liberating Life – Threads of Connection Between the Destruction of the Natural World and Social Justice.”
As a member of Duke Law’s Environmental Law & Policy Clinic, Ms. Rollins coauthored a 115-page rulemaking petition for the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission on behalf of youth clients to establish a carbon dioxide inventory and budget rule for North Carolina in order to combat climate change and also researched, developed, and wrote the carbon dioxide budget rule in preparation for a hearing before the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission. She served as Science and Policy Editor for the Duke Environmental Law & Policy Forum, which focuses on validating the scientific, policy, and economic aspects of articles for one of the nation’s top 10 environmental law journals. She has served as a Policy Advocacy Intern for Environment NC. She also has extensive technical fluency.