What is N-PAcT?

Northeastern Pacific Acoustic Telemetry (N-PAcT) Node is a regional network established in 2025 to unify acoustic telemetry data collection and to facilitate collaboration among researchers tracking marine and anadromous animals from Alaska, USA, through Baja California, Mexico. Our aim is to shift research focus from localized efforts to a cohesive, international scale to better understand aquatic animal movement.

N-PAcT is part of a larger, global network called the Ocean Tracking Network (OTN). As a member of N-PAcT, your tags and receiver networks have the capacity to extend beyond local deployments, providing you with more robust data and the potential for future collaborations. 

If you are a current user-member of N-PAcT, the Plone (i.e. this site) is where you can exchange data with the node manager. The Plone also serves as a secondary back up for data storage as well! Please contact your current node manager at npact@aoos.org to help set up your account for your acoustic telemetry project.

If you are not a current user, please visit our website to learn more information.

Getting Started

  1. Contact the node manager (npact@aoos.org) to set up your account with your preferred email address.
  2. Reset your password
  3. Navigate to your project schema (3-6 letter project code)
  4. Upload new data to the "Data and Metadata" folder
  5. Download data extracts from the "Detection Extracts" folder

Important Dates (2026)

Fall Push cut off date: October 5th, 2026

This is the last date N-PAcT can receive new data to be included in the next push. Data received after this point is not guaranteed to make the current push.

Data Templates

N-PAcT follows data reporting standards set by the Ocean Tracking Network. The accepted metadata sheet formats are available from our website here. Detection data from receivers should be provided in the raw output format the vendor supplies (i.e. for Innovasea receivers, a set of .vrl/.vdat files from the offloaded receivers). Files can be archived as .ZIP files and submitted to npact@aoos.org, or uploaded via the project repository folders on this portal.

FAQ

What is the plone?

Plone is a content management system built on Python, with its first release in 2001. Plone has features that appeal to developers and users alike, such as customizable content types, hierarchical URL object traversing, and a sophisticated content workflow powered by a granular permissions model. This allows you to build anything from simple websites to enterprise-grade intranets.

How do I upload and download my data?

To upload new data or download detection extracts, log in to your account and click through the folders. Specific step-by-step guide can be found here.

I submitted my data, when will I get my detection matches?

OTN undergoes three "data pushes" each year where all tag metadata is cross-referenced across all receiver detection data for contributing nodes. These occur usually in the months of February, June and October. Once the OTN push starts, new data can no longer be ingested so as not to disrupt the database. Users can expect their detection extracts ~6 weeks after the push starts.

When and often can I submit new data?

You can submit new data at any point to your node manager directly via email or through this site after logging into your account.

Who has access to the data that I submit to N-PAcT?

Your detection data, tag metadata, receiver locations, etc. are ONLY immediately visible to those who are 1) members of your project, and 2) members of N-PAcT. No one can just visit the N-PAcT website and start perusing other peoples’ datasets at will (except the data managers, but we really need this access in order to get your data loaded.). When cross-over between projects occur (i.e. tags from one project detected on another project’s receivers), then there is some exchange of more specific information about tags and receivers, such as receiver coordinates and the species tagged. Various rules to prevent/discourage misuse, and encourage fair attribution of these data, are baked into the database structure and our User Agreement and Data Policy.

What do each of the columns in my extracts mean?

OTN glossary of terms can be found here.

Feedback

Please email us at npact@aoos.org for features and tutorials that you would like to see!