Data from: A metadata approach to evaluate the state of ocean knowledge: strengths, limitations, and application to Mexico

Climate change, mismanaged resource extraction, and pollution are
reshaping global marine ecosystems with direct consequences on human
societies. Sustainable ocean development requires knowledge and data
across disciplines, scales and knowledge types. Although several
disciplines are generating large amounts of data on marine
socio-ecological systems, such information is often underutilized due to
fragmentation across institutions or stakeholders, limited standardization
across scale, time or disciplines, and the fact that information is often
not searchable within existing databases. Compiling metadata, the
information which describes existing sets of data, is an effective tool
that can address these challenges, particularly when metadata
corresponding to multiple datasets can be combined to integrate, organize
and classify multidisciplinary data. Here, using Mexico as a case study,
we describe the compilation and analysis of a metadatabase of ocean
knowledge that aims to improve access to information, facilitate
multidisciplinary data sharing and integration, and foster collaboration
among stakeholders. We also evaluate the knowledge trends and gaps for
informing ocean management. Analysis of the metadatabase highlights that
past and current research in Mexico focuses strongly on ecology and
fisheries, with biological data more consistent over time and space
compared to data on human dimensions. Regional imbalances in available
information were also evident, with most available information
corresponding to the Gulf of California, Campeche Bank and Caribbean and
less available for the central and south Pacific and the western Gulf of
Mexico. Despite existing knowledge gaps in Mexico and elsewhere, we argue
that systematic efforts such as this can often reveal an abundance of
information for decision-makers to develop policies that meet key
commitments on ocean sustainability. Surmounting current cross-scale
social and ecological challenges for sustainability requires
transdisciplinary approaches. Metadatabases are critical tools to make
efficient use of existing data, highlight and address strengths and
deficiencies, and develop scenarios to inform policies for managing
complex marine social-ecological systems.