05.08 WAPI

Meeting Notes 140805 15:00 - 16:00

Topic: WAPI; a tool for Fisheries Policy Makers to Analyze the Aquaculture sector

Summary : WAPI is an excel based tool that is in need of data provisioning, and that can function as a bridge between communities, if an infrastructure can support such data exchange. WAPI is developed as an off-line tool to remain close o the current toolset of the targeted audience. Future on-line features are proposed as candidates for funding.

Discussion Notes:

1. WAPI is an Excel tool based on many templates for use by staff in e.g. fisheries departments who often lack internet connectivity.
2. WAPI aims to bring them state of the art analytical features
3. At this stage, stabilizing and further extending the analytical features is WAPI’s top priority
4. Automation of e.g. data updates is of later concern, but would be a welcome addition
5. The current approach using Excel is needed to enable local staff to contribute to the design and analysis of the features. With a JAVA based tool such as FishStat the distance between developers and practitioners is larger, and this increases time-to-product
6. Once a stable set of WAPI features is accepted, the data formats and structure can be supported through automation. An on-line tool could e.g.:
   1. Assist collection and harmonization of statistical time-series (already available in iMarine)
   2. Disseminate the harmonized data to individual instances (a pull by users) of the WAPI Excel tool
   3. Once a stable set of WAPI features is accepted as best practices, an on-line tool is welcome
7. For the future, an expansion of WAPI to also serve in-country time-series can be envisioned, e.g. serving in country level 2 or 3 statistics, specific groupings etc.
   1. Also here, on-line support for harmonization of data sets is welcome.
   2. Harmonization of in-country data is likely to be time consuming, and best practice and guidelines must be first developed.
   3. With specific support from FAO staff, such data collections might be shared with FAO staff to establish in-country data collections.
8. The WAPI can be considered a training and teaching environment, and can be promoted as such.
9. WAPI features interate over currently disparate datasets, and could be useful to foster collaboration amongst UN and Bretton woods institutions and regional development banks.
10. WAPI is intended to become a tool to facilitate evidence-based decision making. Limited by the lack of data, WAPI at this current stage is not yet a tool to evaluate the performance of aquaculture, but that’s our ultimate goal.
11. WAPI has potential to become a share-ware that help capitalize researchers’ analytical efforts into standardized templates for broader users. Contribute and share; that is the motto of WAPI.
12. One objective of this year is to send the draft WAPI templates based on FI fish production data to FI colleagues and selected external experts for test.
13. Next meeting scheduled late August to discuss future options. A note will be added to the iMarine liaisons page as well.