Commercial fishing significantly contributes to the Florida economy. With water surrounding the state on three sides, many counties depend on the commercial fishing industry for employment, economic development, and tourism. After the passing of the Magnuson - Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (1976), it was mandated that fisheries landing data be collected and made available to the public. Using this data, a web mapping application was created to display and explore this data for three of the most important species in the Gulf of Mexico and The Southern Atlantic. These species are the Red Grouper (Epinephelus morio), Gag Grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), and Black Grouper (Mycteroperca bonaci). The application currently explores ten years of commercial landings from 2010 to 2015. The attributes displayed via the map are total pounds landed, number of trips, average cost per pound, and total value of the catch. The application uses existing enterprise technologies and some emerging facets of responsive design in hopes of providing this data to people both on the web and mobile devices. This data could provide insight into the health and viability of the fisheries for policy makers, stock managers, restaurant owners, and even the fishermen themselves.
Link to Application
