This project would redesign, develop, and improve software and database tools for MA DMF to improve fisheries management in the commonwealth of massachusetts and reduce technical debt

Federal Project Grant Award Summary

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game, Division of Marine Fisheries, received a $100,000 Project Grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act (CFDA 11.474), effective July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. The award funds the redesign, development, and improvement of critical software and database tools to enhance fisheries management operations in Massachusetts and reduce technical debt. Specific deliverables include modernization of Oracle Forms, the Commercial Permitting Application, and Fish2022—a comprehensive permitting system that issues, amends, reviews, and transfers commercial, dealer, and special permits—as well as modernization of an Oracle data warehouse infrastructure.

The project emphasizes practical testing and validation of the modernized systems using operational data from the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries' Lobster Sea Sampling Program, Shellfish Biotoxin Sampling program, and Rainfall Data Application. These improvements will strengthen the Division's capacity to collect, manage, and analyze fisheries-dependent data necessary for implementation of interstate conservation and management plans, supporting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, federal partners, and state regulatory decision-making.

This would include a modernization of oracle forms, the commercial permitting application, FISH2022 (which issues; amends; reviews; and transfers commercial, dealer, and special permits), and an oracle data warehouse. There is a focus on using and testing these programs with data from MA dmfs lobster sea sampling program, shellfish biotoxin sampling, and rainfall data application.