"Metadata" refers to data that describe other data. Metadata explain how and what types of data are collected; and how the data are compiled, integrated, summarized, and interpreted. In fishery-dependent data, descriptive metadata could be maps showing geographic areas where fishing surveys are conducted (shoreline areas, ports, roads, etc.); tables relating gear and species codes to fishing methods and taxonomic groups; descriptions of interview forms and how questions are asked; or any other descriptive information on how the fisheries data were collected. In addition to variable/field names, content and formats, structural metadata can describe how the data are stored, calculated, converted (e.g., from a fish's dressed weight to whole weight), integrated (e.g., linking fishing effort to catch data), and expanded to estimate total fish landings in a given area.

Metadata allow internal and external users to evaluate the accuracy, relevance, and interpretation of WPacFIN summary data. We work to clearly document all aspects of data within the warehouse. As partner agencies and industry adapt to changing fisheries and data collection methods, WPacFIN works with them to maintain accurate metadata files, making it available through various sources such as publications or online.

The PIFSC online library provides a link to publications in fisheries, including those for WPacFIN data collections (https://apps-pifsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/library/). The official online source for NOAA fisheries metadata is the InPort metadata catalog (https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/). Although most of the raw monitoring data from agencies are fisheries confidential, metadata on the parameters collected by each WPacFIN partner and how they are used to estimate landings and effort for each insular area can be found in InPort and other NOAA publications.