Proposed new indicator for FY 2022. Measure is under development.

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 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.

NOAA and NMFS support research to advance commercial-scale marine aquaculture production. This is done through commercial scale demonstration facilities in collaboration with—and co-funded by— industry and coastal seafood communities to facilitate the commercial viability of marine aquaculture production. Additionally, NOAA will use aquaculture research to remove production bottlenecks for shellfish and finfish related to siting, disease, genetics and genomics, hatchery seed stock, and feed availability. Performance is measured by calculating the number of either unique or completed stages in ongoing projects which directly advance marine aquaculture production.

This measure tracks the number of dives that use imagery/video as well as other sensors that provided a multidisciplinary first-look at an unknown or poorly understood area of the ocean. These data can be collected using a variety of platforms including ROVs, AUVs, ASVs, etc. OER recognizes a distinction between exploration and characterization. Exploration is conducted using a suite of tools and techniques that provides a multidisciplinary first-look at an unknown or poorly understood area of the ocean. The outcome is intended to be sufficient to inform follow-on characterization, which provides comprehensive data for a specific area of interest of the seafloor, sub-bottom, and/or water column that supports specific research, resource management, policymaking, or applied mission objectives (this is not depth dependant unlike the mapping statistics).

The indicator measures the extent to which OIG investigations result in credible information for prosecutors or Department management to consider remedies related to the investigations. It is computed by dividing the number of investigative cases completed in the fiscal year that were referred for criminal, civil, or administrative action, or where allegations were unfounded by the total number of investigative cases that were completed. Investigative cases are case files opened to investigate an alleged violation of a federal criminal or civil statute or regulation/policy. Referred for criminal, civil, or administrative action means that the investigation developed enough evidence of a violation and was taken to a criminal or civil prosecutor (typically an Assistant United States Attorney) for prosecutorial consideration or referred to Department management for consideration of administrative action. This data is maintained in OIG's Case Management System.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform (COR) grades agencies implementation of key pieces of legislation: FITARA, Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, and Federal Information Security Modernization Act (FISMA) based on selected scoring methodologies for areas from a wide range of options, then the COR tasks the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to collect and score the information according to the COR's direction. The Agency data sets GAO uses are generally publicly available and regularly updated and from which the COR derives an overall Bi-annual letter grade/score of: A, B, C, D or F - (0.0=F) to (4.0=A).

Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP) audits select a random sample of consignments to a target statistical validity. Each consignment is audited for completeness and verified accuracy of documentation. Once this evaluation is complete, any concern with the consignment is forwarded to the Office of Law Enforcement for further investigation. This measure shows the percentage of audited consignments with documentation that is sufficiently complete and verified accurate to not warrant further investigation.

The National Ocean Acidification Observing Network (NOA-ON) is comprised of a suite of sensor assets. Each sensor tracks the daily cycle of ocean carbonate chemistry, which allows us to characterize Ocean Acidification in accordance with the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring (FOARAM) Act. This network provides the capacity to track long-term changes in ocean chemistry and to alert stakeholders and industry partners about corrosive events impacting the Nation’s blue economy.

This measure tracks the percentage of fish stocks that are below their annual catch limit (ACL) in a given year. In 2007, Congress enacted a requirement to use ACLs to end and prevent overfishing. The use of ACLs has been successful in ending and preventing overfishing, as stock assessments have shown the number of stocks subject to overfishing continuing to decline. Performance is measured by comparing the final annual catch estimate to the ACL for each stock that has an ACL. If the final annual catch estimate for the stock is less than the ACL, NOAA will report that the stock did not exceed its ACL.