FinBase is a customized Microsoft Access database system that stores and manages textual and numerical data from photo-identification surveys, as well as performs many of the tasks associated with image management and analysis. A companion ArcGIS™ Extension called the FinBase Mapping Tool was also developed to allow users to easily query FinBase while in a GIS environment and spatially display output. The prototype was developed and implemented at the Center for Coastal Environmental Health and Biomolecular Research (CCEHBR) in October of 2003 and was presented later that year at the Digital Photography Workshop at the Society of Marine Mammalogy’s 15th Biennial Conference. Due to interest expressed at the workshop, efforts were directed towards making FinBase available to the public as a tool for photo-identification research.
In addition to supporting the transfer of the technology to other research laboratories, testing and enhancement of the database, interfaces, and ArcGIS components is ongoing. For more information regarding FinBase, please visit http://chbr.noaa.gov/finbase.
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