This page documents a project to review and evaluate the costs and benefits of moving from legacy reporting systems in Alaska to the Interagency Electronic Reporting System (IERS), also known as elandings. The IERS is an interagency project involving the three agencies that manage commercial fisheries in Alaska: Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and the International Pacific Halibut Commission. By quantifying the costs and benefits, it is hoped that both the state and federal governments can assess the returns on their investments in the IERS. Further, it is believed that the Alaska experience will provide other states and regions with valuable insights as they contemplate similar transitions.
The qualitative assessment of the costs and benefits of the transition to the IERS was conducted by Northern Economics, an economic consulting company located in Anchorage, Alaska. Funding was provided by NMFS Fisheries Information System (FIS) program.
The project resulted in a final report (see attached) that describes: 1) the IERS as well as the “legacy” systems that it replaced; 2) a qualitative description and summary of the costs and benefits that have been realized through the implementation of the IERS; and 3) a review of progress in achieving programmatic goals of the IERS that were initially specified by the partner agencies; and 4) areas were stakeholders feel IERS or regulations that guide the program’s structure could be improved.
Final Report:
Report citation: Northern Economics, Inc. A Review of the Alaska Interagency Electronic Reporting System (IERS) with an Emphasis on Costs and Benefits to Stakeholders. Prepared for NMFS Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Department of Fish and Game. September 7, 2015.