Comment from Matthew Ross

In the age of "big data" where more and more data concerning the of the lives of individuals and companies are recorded online, it seems counter productive to reduce available data that has useful content. While much of the data posted on social media and similar websites is of minimal utility to research and public policy the details of fisheries management is of paramount importance for independent monitoring of both the effectiveness of management polices, and the evolution of marine ecosystems. The technological barriers to utilizing ever more detailed environmental data is ever lowering, lets not increase the bureaucratic barriers. Matthew R Ross, Ph.D. University of Washinton