There is a wealth of information available on the world wide web. In areas like fisheries, where up-to-the-minute information on weather, on prices or on regulations is critical to health and safety, business success or staying on the right side of the law, it can be an invaluable tool, just as it is for those of us who are interested in what’s going on in fisheries-related developments worldwide.

If you have a computer at work or at home and if you already have an internet connection, you probably have a pretty good idea of what I’m writing about. If you don’t, you should. One of the side-effects of the increasing globalization of the seafood industry is that to stay competitive – no matter what your level - you have to know what’s going on not just in your home port, but in the next port, the next state and, increasingly, the next ocean. Fortunately the internet provides a number of tools to let you do that easily and effectively. All you need to access those tools is a personal computer, a phone line and a couple of hours of effort to get familiar with “surfing”(a computer savvy school-age kid or two hanging around probably wouldn’t hurt either).

If you are or when you do get connected, following is a list of sites which in my opinion al have a place somewhere on a scale of “interesting” to “mandatory” for anyone involved in fisheries issues:

 
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council  – While our very own Council’s site isn’t quite as well-developed as those of some of the other Councils, it does provide information on Council members and meetings. It also has links to other management related sites.

The New England Fishery Management Council – Along with the basic information provided by the Mid-Atlantic Council, the New England Council goes into quite a bit more detail on the various plans and plan amendments it has created or is proposing.

NOAA Fisheries/ the National Marie Fisheries Service – Not only the home page of the federal agency that manages the fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, this is a jumping-off place for all of the resources of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service.

NMFS Commercial Fisheries Statistics Homepage – With the straightforward access to the commercial landings database provided here, after a little practice it’s pretty easy to download all sorts of useful statistics (a companion page provides similar access to recreational catch data).

National Fisherman Online – Nobody in the commercial fishing industry needs an introduction to National Fisherman. It is the national voice of the commercial fishing industry, and much of it’s content is available here, along with an extremely valuable weekly update of relevant information.

National Fisheries Institute – The site of the trade association representing the U.S. fish and seafood industry, timely information on current issues as well as solid background materials and consumer information is available here.

The Irishmarine site – “Born out of the need for Irish fishing and coastal communities to take advantage of the Internet, this site highlights a wide range of information on
all topics of interest to the marine community.” It also provides information on EEC fisheries.

Gadus Associates – Trevor Kenchington, an independent Canadian fisheries scientist, has put together a site that, along with a wealth of  information on northern fisheries, includes what is one of the most extensive listings of fisheries-related links on the web.

The Aquatic Network – With information on aquaculture, conservation, fisheries, limnology, marine science and oceanography, maritime heritage, ocean engineering, and seafood, if it’s current and significant, it’s probably covered here.

FishJobs On-Line – An employment service for seafood, fisheries or aquaculture companies seeking to fill sales, marketing, management, operations or quality control positions, this is a good way to keep up with industry trends (or find a job or an employee?).

Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers University – While there isn’t yet a lot of fisheries-specific information here (a situation we expect will be rectified once the New Jersey Fisheries Information and Development Center is started at Rutgers), the remote-sensing and sea-surface temperature sections are extremely interesting.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – Inarguably one of the most important oceanographic research facilities in the world, WHOI has established a web presence that effectively details its programs, facilities, research and personnel. You can learn almost as much about WHOI by visiting its site on the web as you can by driving to Cape Cod, but it’s not nearly as much fun. 

Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary – Long a leader in fisheries and other marine-related research in the mid-Atlantic, the VIMS site provides information on the Institute’s ongoing programs, research, and general information.

USDA Alternative Farming Systems Information Centers’s Aquaculture-Related Internet Sites and Documents – A great example of the type of web services that can be provided by a government agency with a serious commitment to providing services to constituents.

SeaWeb – As one of the organizations leading the charge against commercial fishing in the United States, it’s important that industry members and their supporters familiarize themselves with some of the anti-fishing arguments. The SeaWeb site is a good starting point (note: the inclusion of the SeaWeb site here is not meant as an endorsement of any it’s content).

New Jersery Fishing – Last but (I hope) not least, our primary goal on the New Jersey Fishing site is to provide the “rest of the story” on particular fisheries- or oceans-related issues that catch the public’s eye. We also provide background information on New Jersey’s fisheries and fishing industry, post FishNet USA as it is distributed, and interesting articles, book reviews, etc. that we come across.

Please don’t think that these are the only – or even the most important – places to visit on the web if you are interested in fisheries. They are some of the more important, more informative or more useful sites I’ve come across, but there are many more. To find out how many more, visit some of these sites and follow the links they provide. It will be worth your time and effort (and if you come across a fisheries-related site that you think is worth sharing, let me know by email at njsha@voicenet.com. If I agree, I’ll mention it here or add a link to it on the NJ Fishing site.)
 

Nils E. Stolpe 
Communications Director 
Garden State Seafood Association