73. This component of the Workshop was to introduce and train participants to use the CARIFIS database (upgraded TIP/LRS database) as a tool for data storage, querying and reporting. Presentations were made on the development of the Caribbean Fisheries Information System (CARIFIS) software; installation and system requirements; features of CARIFIS; networking capabilities; structure of the database; data entry and quality control, querying and reporting and accessing CARIFIS from Excel and SPSS. Resource persons conducted practical sessions for the participants on data entry, querying and reporting, with suggestions for refinement being noted and errors/bugs in the software being recorded for correction.
74. Following the presentations, discussions and practical sessions, participants made the recommendations below:
(i) Data Entry: There should be a pop-up to remind the data operator to post in order to save the record.
(ii) Data Entry: For Total Effort at Site, include as an option the generation of the total number of boats from the LRS data, in addition to adding the number of vessels from the site.
(iii) Data Entry: The data entry operator should only be required to save once in doing a record rather than having to say at intervals.
(iv) Networking: The networking capabilities of CARIFIS should be enhanced as some countries operate separate units for data entry and licensing and registration of fishing vessels.
(v) There should be a section in CARIFIS for the inclusion of Frame Survey/Census data.
(vi) Transfer of legacy TIP and LRS databases to CARIFIS: Each country should review their databases with a view to identifying fields that were utilized for data other than the intended data to facilitate the building of the routine for the transfer of legacy databases to CARIFIS.
(vii) A data entry operator should not be able to delete a record (e.g. fisher) if it is linked to another aspect of the database. An attempt to delete such a record should yield a pop-up "Do you wish to delete this record?"
(viii) Year/Month/Day should be placed below or above each date field.
(ix) Administration: The country list should be amended to include Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Suriname, The Bahamas and Turks and Caicos.
(x) Fish Register: An error message should show up when the First Issue date is greater than the Application date.
(xi) Vessel Registration: Under Help - Some of the gear descriptions should be improved
(xii) Trip Interview: Total Effort at Site - Remove the constraint that boats fishing must be less than or equal to total number of boats, and review the description in Help.
(xiii) Trip Interview: Total Effort at Site - Effort History - should have a ceiling on the In-days with regard the Number of Previous Trips.
(xiv) Trip Interview: Catch - the data entry operator should have should have the option of species or code.
(xv) In addition to Help, a manual should be developed for CARIFIS, using the manuals developed for TIP and LRS as guides.
(xvi) Processing Plant: should add freezing and cold storage capacities.
(xvii) Processing Plant: should put the location of the main market, e.g. United States of America, under Market.
(xviii) Registration numbers should be able to be PC-generated or put in manually.
(xix) Aquaculture: Registration - systems should be explained in Help.
(xx) Aquaculture: This section should be further developed to enable the estimation of production and value, with a section for inputting field data.
(xxi) Legal Charges: A field should be included to identify the species involved.
(xxii) Legal Charges: Should include the name of the Officer making the arrest, the Charge Date, Time of the Offence, Nationality of the Offender and Type of Evidence, possibly using Memo fields where appropriate.
(xxiii) Legal Charges: legal charges should generate a record/reference that can archived.
(xxiv) Loans: Should include a field for Collateral.
(xxv) All presentations made by the trainers should be amended based on suggestions from participants and placed on compact disc. Copies should be provided for each country for use in training as well as an aid to data entry operators.
75. Participants and resource persons looked at the way forward for introducing CARIFIS to the Fisheries Departments of CARIFORUM/CARICOM member states and made the following recommendations:
(i) If feasible, the errors identified as well as the suggestions made for modifications during the Workshop should be forwarded to the Consultant for his attention, and the updated CARIFIS forwarded to countries by the end of May 2003.
(ii) A compact disc with the amended presentations by the resource persons should be compiled by CFU and forwarded to countries by the end of April 2003.
(iii) Participants should begin testing of the current version of CARIFIS using real data and provide feed back by sending error and other reports to [email protected] and [email protected].
(iv) On receipt of the upgraded version of CARIFIS, participants would continue to carry out rigorous testing using real data and continue to provide feedback to CFU, until the end of November 2003.
(v) Countries should be provided with computers and printers or scanners or digital cameras, depending on appropriateness and costs, to facilitate the introduction and effective utilization of CARIFIS. It was pointed out to participants that cost and available funds would be the determining factors in the type of equipment provided.
(vi) With regard the transfer of the legacy databases for TIP and LRS to CARIFIS, countries should review their TIP and LRS databases and identify all fields that were used for entering records for which the field was not intended. In order to assist in this exercise CFU undertook to provide guidelines, including the fields in TIP and LRS, for the review by the end of May 2003.
(vii) The Consultant, CRFM Data Manager, and at least one or two other regional programmers (preferably from the public sector) should undertake the task of loading the legacy databases from TIP and LRS to CARIFIS for at least one or two countries. This would involve developing the routines for the importing of the data as well as training the CRFM Data Manager and the regional programmer(s) to undertake the tasks for the other countries.
(viii) The CRFM Data Manager and the regional programmer(s) should then be tasked with the loading of the legacy databases for the other countries, either on a country by country basis or in a workshop setting. The participants opined that a country by country basis would be the better approach as issues encountered in an on the spot transfer could be better addressed.
(ix) CFU should seek to urgently recruit a Data Manager as it was recognized that this individual would be crucial to the support and development of CARIFIS.
(x) A CARIFIS Working Group supported by the CRFM Data Manager and a few regional programmers, drawn preferably from the public sector, should be tasked with the maintenance of CARIFIS over its short to medium term development.
(xi) CFU should provide some assistance to countries storing catch, effort, biological, licensing and registration data in Excel and Access to facilitate the transfer of the data to CARIFIS.
(xii) The testing period for CARIFIS should last from 31 April to 30 November 2003, with the start-up date for the use of CARIFIS in countries being 31 January 2004.
(xiii) CFU should prepare a schedule reflecting the activities leading to the start-up for CARIFIS in January 2004.
76. The resource persons for the CARIFIS component of the Workshop were: Ms S. Reynolds, DOF, Jamaica; Ms S. Constantine, CFU; Ms W. Joseph, DOF, Saint Lucia; Ms C. Jardine, DOF, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Mr A. Jackman, DOF, Barbados; Mr S. Singh-Renton, CFU, and Mr T. Phillips, CFU.
