Data administrator to assist with adoption of SIH including economic data

CALL FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FOR INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT

Technical Assistance to Seychelles Fishing Authority for Fisheries Statistics

• INTRODUCTION

Seychelles’ comparative advantage lies with its natural capital. The country is endowed with an extremely rich biodiversity, both marine and terrestrial, and is one of Conservation International’s designated biodiversity hotspots. The two most important sectors of the Seychellois economy are tourism and fisheries, both strongly tied to the country marine endowment and its biodiversity. Fisheries account for a significant portion of gross domestic product but are also of considerable social, cultural and nutritional importance to the country. However, the management of fisheries is hampered by insufficient human capacity, legal and institutional frameworks, while issues such as climate change, overfishing and coastal development are adding increasing pressure on marine ecosystem goods and services. In the fisheries sector, focus is therefore being placed on improved governance of priority fisheries, including the adoption of management plans that are informed by robust management advice. The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) is the principal public institution for fisheries in Seychelles, overseeing management, development, research and capacity building.

Sustainable fisheries management requires sound fisheries data and statistics. High quality data enables timely advice on the dynamics and status of fisheries, reliable economic analysis and the provision of information for policy makers to guide development of the fisheries sector. Robust data and statistics also support assessment of the effectiveness of fisheries management and regulations. As the custodian of numerous fisheries-related data, SFA is highly dependent on capacity for data management and database maintenance for producing statistics required by the sector.

SFA has made considerable progress in recent years to update and develop statistical databases for data collection, capture, verification, validation and processing. For example, SFA are collaborating with the Institut Français de Recherche pour l’Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER, France) to modernise the statistical catch assessment survey, adapted from their Système d'Informations Halieutiques (SIH) system. Nonetheless, SFA continues to rely heavily on partners for technical support to its statistical systems, which can result in delays, and staff levels are insufficient to maintain the production of statistics while at the same time upgrading and developing databases. SFA is now recruiting a consultant to serve as a Technical Assistant with a specific focus on fisheries statistical system administration.

• OBJECTIVES

The objective of the Technical Assistance is to provide expertise in information technology, database and software management, and capacity-building support to SFA, with a focus on development, upgrading and maintenance of the fisheries statistical systems.

• SCOPE OF WORK

Across three main work areas, the consultant will undertake the following tasks.

• Assist SFA in developing a data repository for all statistical datasets on a new server, which will include:

• Assessment of technical requirements, identification of data sources and formats, selection of the appropriate datasets, and design of the logical and physical structure of the data repository;

• Creation of the physical database and the logical storage structures associated with the data repository to provide fast and efficient access to the data;

• Defining storage management, fast data access, data protection, multiuser support, and security;

• Population of the various datasets in the data repository;

• Creation and storage of metadata and writing database documentation, including data standards, procedures and definitions for the data dictionary; and

• Managing the data repository, including controls of access permission and privileges.

• Set up management and maintenance procedures for statistical databases and related software at SFA, which will include:

• SIH. Liaise with Environment Information Systems (EIS) to perform relevant technical updates of the SIH software and database;

• T3+, Observe, AVDTH, AKADO, ANAPO. Liaise with the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) to perform the configuration set up for upgrading these software to the new versions;

• Set up procedures for the back-up of current databases at SFA (i.e. FINSS, AVDTH, Observe, SIH) to ensure that storage and archiving procedures are functioning correctly;

• Configure and update observer laptops with latest version of Observe software;

• Establish the needs of users and monitor user access and security for the Aldabra and SVRSTT servers.

• Provide Information Technology-related support to SFA on projects under development to improve the fisheries data management system.

• Commissioning and installing new applications in order to make them fit for purpose, which will include:

• Liaising with CLS on the design and setting up of the electronic reporting system;

• Liaising with IRD on technical aspect of the Observe module being developed for the industrial longline fishery;

• Working in collaboration with consultant developing the new vessel and license and registry.

• Working in collaboration with IFREMER to develop a web-based reporting system for dissemination of fisheries statistical information.

• KEY DELIVERABLES

The main deliverables of this assignment are:

• A detailed work plan including a technical needs assessment.

• Monthly progress summaries for the SFA Principal Statistician.

• A documented data repository on SVRSTT.

• Two servers updated with latest version of T3, Observe, SIH and AVDTH.

• A documented backup system.

• All laptops and relevant PCs updated with latest version of Observe.

• A final technical report on SFA statistical database projects (ERS, Observe LL, SIH-Web Reporting) under development, including their technical requirements, detailed development stages and way forward.

• ASSIGNMENT DURATION AND TIMING OF ACTIVITIES/DELIVERABLES

The assignment will be based entirely in Seychelles and undertaken between September 2017 and March 2018 according to proposed schedule below.