Dataset Identification:

Resource Abstract:
This spreadsheet is the central tracking document and inventory of "official" GIS datasets in development, published, or archived at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). All shapefiles, data templates and other documents are described here.
Citation
Title GARFOGIS_DATA_TRACKING.xlsm
alternateTitle  GIS Data Tracking
publication  Date
presentationForm  tableDigital
other Citation Details
cited responsible party -
organisation Name
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name Citation URL
URL:http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/educational_resources/gis/index.html
protocol WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
link function download
Description Homepage of the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Program.
cited responsible party -
organisation Name
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name Citation URL
URL:http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/educational_resources/gis/data/index.html
protocol WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
link function download
Description This web page contains download links for all "official" GIS data that is identified as "published" in the GIS Tracking Spreadsheet. In the future, the web page may also contain links to archived (historic) GIS data.
Topic Category:  oceans
Theme keywords (theme):
atlantic coastal fisheries cooperative management act
critical habitat
endangered species act
fisheries
fishery
garfo
gis
greater atlantic regional fisheries office
highly migratory species
magnuson-stevens act
marine mammals protection act
national environmental protection act
national marine fisheries service
national oceanic and atmospheric administration
reg area
regulated area
shapefile
Location keywords:
atlantic ocean
cape cod bay
exclusive economic zone
georges bank
gulf of maine
mid-atlantic
southern new england
us eez
Stratum keywords:
marine
oceanic
project Keywords
Geographic Information Systems
purpose:
The purpose of this spreadsheet is to provide a central inventory of standardized GIS products developed at GARFO. Currently, the only "official" GIS products in development are shapefiles of NMFS Fishing Regulated Areas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic waters (Reg Areas). This spreadsheet lists and describes a series of templates developed to standardize this process. The spreadsheet also tracks the status of each Reg Area shapefile, including development, review, publication and archiving. Other useful by-products generated by GARFO are also described.
Resource language:  eng; US
Resource progress code:  onGoing
Resource Maintenance Information
maintenance or update frequency:  asNeeded
Constraints on resource usage:
Legal Constraints
Access Constraints  otherRestrictions
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Access Constraints: None. | Use Constraints: *** Attribution *** Whenever NMFS material is reproduced and re-disseminated, we request that users attribute the material appropriately. Pursuant to 17 U.S.C. 403, parties who produce copyrighted works consisting predominantly of material created by the Federal Government are encouraged to provide notice with such work(s) identifying the U.S. Government material incorporated and stating that such material is not subject to copyright protection. Please cite Regulated Area datasets as follows, with the appropriate information substituted for all text in {CURLY BRACKETS}:NOAA Fisheries Service. NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters. {SHAPEFILE TITLE} [Shapefile]. Gloucester, MA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) [producer] {SHAPEFILE PUBLICATION DATE}. http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/gis. *** No Warranty*** The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of these data. NMFS is providing these data "as is," and NMFS disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NMFS be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data. *** Proper Usage *** The information on government servers are in the public domain, unless specifically annotated otherwise, and may be used freely by the public. Before using information obtained from this server, special attention should be given to the date and time of the data and products being displayed. This information shall not be modified in content and then presented as official government material. This dataset was created to depict the boundaries of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) only. The dataset should not be used for a legal definition. The dataset should not be used to infer information regarding the existence or details of other marine features or resources, including, but not limited to, navigable waters, coastlines, bathymetry, submerged features, or man-made structures. Users assume responsibility for determining the appropriate use of this dataset. *** Not the Legal Definition *** This Geographic Information System (GIS) dataset is not the legal definition of the Regulated Area. The description published in the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations is the only legal definition. This dataset and metadata document provide a broad overview of a subset of applicable fishing regulations, restrictions and requirements; it is not a substitute for the actual regulations. Users are encouraged to read the applicable regulations in conjunction with use of this dataset. *** Temporal Considerations *** Regulated Area boundary definitions are subject to change or modification. Published datasets may represent historic, current, or future Regulated Areas. When changes to fishing regulations affect this dataset, it will be archived and replaced by an updated version as soon as feasible. Approved Regulated Area boundaries may also be published prior to their effective date. It is the users responsibility to ensure the applicable Regulated Area boundaries are being used. *** Shorelines/Base Layers *** The accuracy of this dataset is dependent upon the accuracy and resolution of the datasets (e.g., shoreline, bathymetry, shared administrative boundaries) used in the creation process. Source datasets used are specified in the metadata. These data sources were selected for their suitability to a broad audience, and may not be suitable for specific uses requiring higher-resolution information. Coastlines change. Unless otherwise noted, where the NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline is used, assume the regulatory boundary reaches the most current coastline delineation available.
Constraints on resource usage:
Security Constraints
Classification  unclassified
Classification System
Handling Description
Resource extent
Extent description
Geographic Area Description:
Geographic Extent
Geographic Bounding Box
westBoundLongitude  -83
eastBoundLongitude  -65
northBoundLatitude  46
southBoundLatitude  24
Temporal Extent
Data is updated as needed, with outdated information migrated to archive section of data set. 2012-12-31
Additional information on resource:
point of contact - pointOfContact
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
organisation Name  Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Fax
Address
55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930 Country USA
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
hoursOfService 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 EST
contact Instructions
point of contact - custodian
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
organisation Name  Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Fax
Address
55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930 Country USA
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
hoursOfService 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 EST
contact Instructions
point of contact -
organisation Name
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP)
URL:https://inport.nmfs.noaa.gov/inport/item/29707/dmp
protocol WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
link function information
Description NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort.
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Scope of quality information
scope level  dataset
Resource lineage description
Lineage statement
Processing Step
description [Processes Vary] Based on the unique geography included in a regulated area boundary, the following processing steps may vary. Additional steps may be included, as necessary, if the regulated area boundary includes any of the following features (not an exhaustive list): - Cape Cod Canal - Nantucket Sound Submerged Lands Act boundary - Bathymetric contours - Geodesic Circles
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Template Generation] Many NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) share boundaries that are partially coincident with any combination of the following: 1) the U.S. Atlantic coastline; 2) the Submerged Lands Act boundary; 3) the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine; 4) the outward extent of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (a.k.a. the "200-nautical mile line"). To standardize Regulated Area features sharing these boundaries, published shapefiles of the shared administrative boundaries were obtained from the authoritative agencies. A shoreline was selected that was suitable for general mapping purposes, freely and publicly available, of medium-resolution, and covering the extent of the U.S.. When necessary, the boundaries were transformed to NAD83. A series of template polygon shapefiles were then generated, using these authoritative boundaries as the outward extents of the polygon. All templates were generated in NAD83 geographic coordinate system. The templates created are: 1) Coast-to-EEZ: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida (an arbitrary cut-off for the Atlantic); 2) Coast-to-SLA: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the Submerged Lands Act boundary, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida; 3) SLA-to-EEZ: bounded by the Submerged Lands Act boundary, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81W longitude off the southern extent of Florida. These templates were subsequently copied and edited, as needed by the Regulated Area spatial definitions.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Get Definition Text] The current legal spatial definition for the Regulated Area was copied from the e-CFR website.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Features From Templates] The (Coast-to-EEZ, Coast-to-SLA, SLA-to-EEZ) template shapefile was copied and projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. The coordinates of the Regulated Area definition were transferred to a spreadsheet, converted to Decimal Degrees, plotted as a point shapefile in NAD83, and then projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. To generate the Regulated Area boundary in ArcGIS, the template polygon was split by connecting these points in the order specified in the spatial definition. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following the (Coastline, SLA, EEZ), the coinciding outward extent of the template polygon was used. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following a straight line, rhumb lines were constructed. As an exception, points intended to fall along the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary were connected by following the geodesic line that legally defines that international boundary. After all points were appropriately connected, any portions of the template outside the defined Regulated Area were discarded. When multiple Regulated Areas are a part of a larger grouping of related Regulated Areas, these steps were repeated to generate a unique feature for each Regulated Area and the features were then combined into a single shapefile. The boundaries were densified with consecutive vertices spaced no more than 10 nautical miles apart, to preserve rhumb line paths in other coordinate systems. The file was projected back to the un-projected NAD83 coordinate system.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Add Attributes] The standardized attribute schema was applied to the shapefile, and the fields were defined.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Policy Review] The Regulated Area spatial definition text, shapefile geometry and attribute values were reviewed with policy staff to verify that the shapefile accurately depicted and described the intended boundaries.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Check Geometry] The ESRI ArcGIS Check Geometry tool was run on the shapefile to identify any geometry problems. If problems were encountered, they were reviewed and corrected.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Metadata] A GARFO Regulated Area shapefile metadata template was developed using the EPA Metadata Editor v3.2. This template was applied and customized to reflect the specific characteristics of the given shapefile. The metadata was validated for FGDC CSDGM compliance.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Final Review] The shapefile was reviewed by members of the GARFO GIS Committee, policy experts from the GARFO Division responsible for the Regulated Area, and General Counsel, according to the GARFO GIS Data Distribution Policy.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Publication] The shapefile, with accompanying metadata, was uploaded for public download on the NOAA NMFS GARFO GIS website.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
Processing Step
description [Archival] When a regulated area is removed from the Code of Federal Regulations, the shapefile is removed from the list of published regulated areas and added to the data archive. Fields are added detailing when the data was archived and a short reason explaining why the archival was necessary. Archived data is still available, but may not be actively published on the GARFO GIS website, or may be stored in a "historic data" section of the GARFO GIS website.
processing agent contact - processor
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Address
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
source
source citation
Title Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
cited responsible party -
organisation Name
Contact information
Linkage for online resource
name Source Citation URL
URL:http://www.ecfr.gov/
protocol WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
link function information
Description Source Citation URL

Resource distribution information

Distributor
distributor contact - distributor
individual Name
organisation Name  Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
Contact information
Telephone
Voice
Fax
Address
,,,  Country
electronic Mail Address
hoursOfService 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 EST
contact Instructions
See Point of Contact
Format
Format name ESRI Shapefile
Format version
file Decompression Technique  Zip
Digital Transfer Options
Linkage for online resource
name GIS Datasets & Charts
URL:http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/educational_resources/gis/data/index.html
protocol WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link
link function download
Description
Metadata data stamp:  2016-02-24T16:05:03
Metadata Constraints
Legal Constraints
Access Constraints  otherRestrictions
use constraint:  otherRestrictions
Other constraints
Access Constraints: None. | Use Constraints: Disclaimer - While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.
Metadata contact - pointOfContact
individual Name Szumylo, Dean M
organisation Name  Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
Contact information
Telephone
Voice 978-282-8479
Fax
Address
55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930 Country USA
electronic Mail Addressdean.szumylo@noaa.gov
hoursOfService 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 EST
contact Instructions
Metadata scope code  dataset
Metadata language  eng
Metadata character set encoding:   UTF8
Metadata standard for this record:  ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part 2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data
standard version:  ISO 19115-2:2009(E)
Metadata record identifier:  gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:29707

Metadata record format is ISO19139-2 XML (MI_Metadata)