Fisheries Data Restricted to Protect Trade Secrets

摘要

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spends about $40 million annually to put independent observers on fishing vessels, where they collect data on what's caught in U.S. waters. The information is crucial for evaluating how well fishery management plans are working. Now, NOAA wants to limit public access to these data to protect confidential business information. The agency's proposed changes include withholding information about where and when a vessel caught fish, which kinds and how many it caught, and what kind of gear it used.