Most of the benefits from enabling e-signatures gained by NMFS and NMFS' end users are qualitative in nature. In large part, the benefits to e-signatures accrue from making it easier for end users to report or file electronically thereby minimizing paper reporting and filing of information. Some of the following benefits apply generally to the use of e-signatures in the shift from paper to electronic filing and some are specific to using e-signatures to improve the Hawaii Longline Logbook application.
- Reduced cycle time for submitting logbook data. This is an endangered fishery because some species which have historically been a part of this fishery have been determined to be over-fished stocks. Under the MSRA NMFS is committed to ending overfishing, establishing recovery plans for overfished stocks, and ultimately executing the recovery plans to restore the viability of the overfished stocks. Timely reporting will reduce the chance of over fishing because fisheries managers will have an opportunity to monitor the fishery and intervene if necessary. Timely reporting will also support the more intensive management which is likely to be required under recovery plans.
- An increase in constituent participation and satisfaction. Many commercial fishers already use technology to track their catch as a means to increase their productivity. This electronic reporting alternative may allow those fishers to leverage their investment in electronic catch logging to also address their record keeping and reporting obligations. The potential also exists for independent software vendors to provide integration with navigation devices allowing direct recording of fishing locations which would reduce data entry workload and improve data accuracy.
- Cleaner data and more data analysis opportunities. Having the logbook data collected electronically, with comprehensive edit-checks for valid or reasonable data, and immediate feedback on detection of questionable data, will ensure cleaner data. Cleaner data, available more rapidly, will provide more data analysis opportunities.
- Increase in employee productivity. Receiving the data electronically obviates the need to key in logbook data to be used for analysis.
- Greater information benefits to the public. Because this is an endangered fishery due to overfished stocks, the fishing public is likely to have a high degree of interest in this data. Electronic data capture will provide potential for in-season analysis, possibly modeling differing fishing behaviors and showing the fishing public how they could optimize their opportunity to fish by avoiding areas with high bycatch of overfished stocks, etc.
- Reduced reporting burden on the public. Compared to traditional manual logbook reporting, the electronic reporting process should be more convenient and take less time.
Increase in Employee Productivity
Using e-signatures to enable electronic reporting of logbook data should also help to increase employee productivity. Since this is a new reporting requirement for non-commercial fishers, an electronic logbook application should, at the very least, minimize the impact of gathering and analyzing these new data. (There is a statement in the regulatory amendment that edit checks in the electronic logbook application reduces the chances of data errors. There is no estimate of time savings to reporting entities from this improved data quality. The combination of time saved from having fewer NMFS staff on the dock and reduced errors in data reported is estimated to saving 21.8 days per year for NMFS staff in this region.)
Information Benefits to the Public
(I deleted the entry on data quality and its implications for transparency for now. Not sure that information benefits to this application apply like they do for NPS)
Reduced Reporting Burden
Based on estimates provided the upcoming Hawaii longline logbook, this analysis assumes a less burden for electronic logbook reporting than on paper. Estimates for burden reduction from the Longline log book state electronic versus paper logbooks will take one third less time. Based on estimated numbers of trips and sets per year, this yields an estimated savings of 2.9 days per year.
Reduced Cycle time for logbook reporting between NMFS and End Users
One substantial benefit that is gained by switching to an electronic process for logbook reporting is a reduction in time getting the logbook data in a form for further processing and analysis. The most noticeable speed increase is seen in the time it takes to transmit the logbook data to NMFS regional office for processing. There is the additional time it takes to convert the data to electronic form from the paper logbooks. The regulatory amendment did not quantify the decrease in cycle time for electronic submissions.