Increase data accuracy. Decrease data processing time.
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is empowering harvesters with an electronic reporting tool for enhanced data accuracy and compliance.
Meet our Partner
The IPHC is an organization that manages convention waters between the United States and Canada. They are responsible for managing halibut stocks in shared waters by dividing the space into reporting areas, establish quotas, and to generally maintain the health of halibut stocks by tracking and recording fishing data to inform their protection of the resource. Fishermen who hold permits from the IPHC must use their logbook for regulatory reporting purposes.
Their Goal
The IPHC knows it’s time to move in an electronic direction for reporting and data processing methods. Outdated pen and paper logbooks means messy reporting and water damaged pages riddled with human error. Port Samplers who review and edit these logsheets need a more effective solution than crossing out incorrect data and scribbling in updated numbers and notes by hand. The IPHC wanted to build a new system that allows for easy regulatory submission for the harvester and more accurate data review and processing for Port Samplers and IPHC offices. In short, the IPHC was looking to modernize their data transfer and flow process from harvester, to port sampler, to regional offices.
Their Solution Story
By employing the Catchflow™ IDE, the IPHC received two unique Deckhand applications, or workflows, to fit their IT solution. These workflows would effectively move harvesters, field agents, and offices away from paper and towards digital data collection and data processing methods. Deckhand for harvesters allows for simpler logbook data collection and for wireless logbook submission to field agents. Deckhand for field agents provides validation checks, the ability to view and edit harvester data, and the ability to wirelessly submit validated data packages to IPHC offices. Moving to this customized electronic system means more accurate data, reduced time and distance between data collection and data submission, and more efficient data flow from one place to another.
How It Works
The IPHC harvester and field agent applications, or workflows, run on Deckhand. Deckhand’s integration with iOS features such as GPS location data, time and date stamps, and AirDrop capabilities provide a familiar interface for users and pre-configured tools for developer use. Trip information collected by the harvester using Deckhand is displayed by mimicking the IPHC paper log sheets. Using Deckhand, these electronic log sheets can be sent from tablet to tablet for regulatory submission and can also be sent directly to IPHC’s Azure backend – meaning quick, validated, and pre-processed data direct to where it needs to go.
Harvesters using Deckhand can collect more accurate fishing data and then, with the tap of a button, send their reports to field agents using Deckhand for review.
