Skip to contents

Contributing

Source: CONTRIBUTING.md

Keep changes to area geometry separate from interface changes. For a data update:

  1. Confirm the authoritative agency source, its effective period, datum, field definitions, and redistribution terms. Do not substitute EFH or a reporting grid for an FMP boundary.
  2. Refresh downloads and inspect service metadata; review changes in counts, SHA-256 hashes, native identifiers, and dates. Retrieval dates are not vintages.
  3. Rebuild with data-raw/build-data.R. Compare coverage and inspect maps, especially the Aleutian dateline, Donut Hole, state-water exclusions, Scotch Cap, Cape Suckling, and the three salmon management areas.
  4. Update the plan catalog, methods, limitations, tests, and NEWS. Record any source change that makes a boundary incomparable to an earlier release.
  5. Generate documentation, run R CMD build and R CMD check, and review the resulting diff. Never commit raw caches, tokens, or local check directories.

Useful next datasets include NOAA bathymetry, IPHC areas, ADF&G salmon district layers, and species-specific crab management units. Add each as its own documented layer with its own identifiers rather than forcing it into a groundfish grid.