Information Management 



Environmental data management efforts of the Department of the Interior 

 relate to (a) the statistical reporting system of the Bureau of Commercial 

 Fisheries, including collection, compilation, and publication of data on the 

 volume of catch by species, area of capture, type of gear and craft used, and 

 number of fishermen involved (Chapter VI), (b) the data collection and 

 analysis activities of the Geological Survey, and (c) the storage and retrieval 

 system of the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, originally 

 designed to automate water quality data produced by Federal, State, and 

 local monitoring programs and subsequently expanded to include project and 

 other management information. 



The Smithsonian Oceanographic Sorting Center processes biological and 

 geological specimens for scientists throughout the world. The Center receives 

 samples of marine algae, plankton, invertebrates, and vertebrates from 

 oceanographic expeditions and biological field stations, sorts the samples into 

 taxonomic groups, and forwards them to researchers in the United States 

 and abroad. During the past year a petrographic laboratory was established, 

 and a new automatic data processing and retrieval system was successfully 

 tested. Also, the Smithsonian Institution continued to operate its Mediterra- 

 nean Marine Sorting Center in Tunisia with specialists in France, Italy, 

 Malta, Rumania, Yugoslavia, and the host country contributing samples. 



The data management program of the Coast Guard includes collection 

 and reduction of data acquired from research vessels, ice breakers, and 

 ocean stations; collection and transmittal of ice observations and related 

 predictions to International Ice Patrol headquarters; analyzing and filing 

 data from automated data collection systems ; and planning for data aspects 

 of the National Data Buoy System. 



New Steps To Strengthen Information Management 



A number of characteristics of our current information practices retard 

 effective flow of data from producer to user: 



— inconsistent practices among producer groups in taking oceanographic 

 measurements and presenting data, and by users in identifying re- 

 quirements and criteria for accepting and rejecting data; 

 — lack of awareness of many potential users of information sources, 

 in view of the multiplicity and diversity of Federal, State, industry, 

 and university organizations ; and 

 — lack of automated data-handling facilities and compatible measuring 

 instruments. 

 Additionally, the nature of marine endeavors complicates data manage- 

 ment problems due to : 



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