This measure tracks Sea Grant’s success in assisting industry personnel with the adoption of responsible harvesting and processing techniques that improve social, economic, and ecological sustainability. Industry personnel include recreational, commercial (wild and cultured), and subsistence fishery participants, processors, and retailers. Practices include techniques, technologies and best management practices adopted. Fisheries sustainability and seafood safety refers to any combination of the ability of the ecosystem to remain diverse and productive; the social, cultural, and economic resilience of the fishing community; personal or crew safety; and quality and safety of the seafood product.

This measure tracks the percentage of Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) fish stocks for which adequate assessments are available. Assessments are vital to determine the scientific basis for supporting and evaluating the impact of fishery management actions. To be deemed adequate, assessments must be based on recent quantitative information sufficient to determine current stock status (abundance and mortality) relative to established reference levels and to forecast stock status under different management scenarios

This measures establishes customized assessment targets for every managed fish stock and gauges success in meeting those targets. Using this approach, NMFS can more accurately measure incremental progress of its national stock assessment enterprise and the degree to which we are meeting NOAA’s fish assessment needs. This measure will eventually be replacing Adequate Assessments for Fish Stocks.

This measure accounts for annual contributions to the overall percentage of the US Waters that have been mapped to a depth greater than 200 meters. It is based upon the data holdings of the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and reflects reporting from all data sources.

This measure highlights change in jobs that communities or businesses generate or save due to Sea Grant assistance (i.e., providing information to help communities, industries or businesses expand, make better decisions or avoid mistakes). Sea Grant provides the information and training that informs business decisions, and in some Hurricane forecast track error cases firms create or sustain jobs as a result. A job created is a new position created and filled as a result of Sea Grant activities. An existing position that is filled with a Sea Grant-trained applicant should not be reported in this measure. A job sustained is an existing, filled position that is sustained as a direct result of Sea Grant activities. A job cannot be reported as both created and sustained in the same year.

This measure tracks the number of protected species stocks for which adequate assessments are available. Assessments are vital to determine the scientific basis for supporting and evaluating the impact of management actions. To be deemed adequate, assessments must be based on recent quantitative or qualitative analysis sufficient to determine current stock status based on a variety of data category levels (e.g., life history, threats, stock structure, assessment quality, assessment frequency, and abundance), and conservation status. Stock status projections are highly dependent on survey frequencies, assessment time frames, and fiscal constraints. This measure covers the protected species stocks covered by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) or listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The number of such stocks continues to increase as new species are listed and as new stocks of listed species and marine mammals are identified— the latter typically indicates increased knowledge about population stock structure.

This measure tracks the number of protected species stocks for which adequate assessments are available. Assessments are vital to determine the scientific basis for supporting and evaluating the impact of management actions. To be deemed adequate, assessments must be based on recent quantitative or qualitative analysis sufficient to determine current stock status based on a variety of data category levels (e.g., life history, threats, stock structure, assessment quality, assessment frequency, and abundance), and conservation status. Stock status projections are highly dependent on survey frequencies, assessment time frames, and fiscal constraints. This measure covers the protected species stocks covered by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) or listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The number of such stocks continues to increase as new species are listed and as new stocks of listed species and marine mammals are identified— the latter typically indicates increased knowledge about population stock structure.

This measure tracks the progress of ongoing or completed recovery actions included in NMFS approved recovery plans for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Recovery plans include a list of actions necessary to de-list the species. These include actions that may be completed in a year or that may take many years to complete or are ongoing. Recovery of a species may take decades. Completed recovery actions shows incremental progress.

This measure shows the average number of days to complete an informal ESA Section 7 consultation. Federal agencies must consult with NOAA when any project or action might affect an ESA-listed marine species or a critical habitat. The process begins as informal consultation, but if it is determined that the action is likely to adversely affect a listed species and/or its critical habitat, the consultation must be formal. A large majority of consultations are handled informally.

This measure gaugues the success of the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) by tracking the percentage of permit holders audited who were responsive and had complete chain of custody records.