Editorial Policy & Data Integrity

1. Mission & Purpose

StockedWaters is an independent civic reference built to answer one fundamental question for anglers and outdoor enthusiasts: when, where, and what species were stocked in public US waters?

While state fish and wildlife agencies publish stocking schedules and historical reports, the raw files are often scattered across GIS services, PDFs, and agency portals in disparate formats. We aggregate, validate, and index this public open data so anglers can make informed, legal, and sustainable outdoor decisions without digging through raw tables.

2. Data Integrity & Verification Rules

Our credibility relies entirely on factual precision. Every stocking record published on StockedWaters is governed by rules that we never bend:

• Zero Precision Fabrication: We report dates only at the exact precision provided by the state agency (day, week, month, or year). If a feed only records “May 2025,” we never fabricate a day. Where date data is omitted, we clearly state “not reported.”
• Algorithmic Validation & Anomaly Detection: Every record passes through validation filters that flag and reject implausible dates (e.g. typos decoding before 1900 or into the future) and reconcile geocoding against official GNIS coordinates.
• Real Coordinates Only: Near-me radius calculations and map markers exclusively show waterbodies with verified geographic coordinates. Non-geocoded historical entries remain documented in tabular archives with explicit notices.
• Direct Provenance: Every entity page carries an attribution badge naming the reporting state agency and the publication or report date of the source feed.

3. Automation, Algorithms & Human Oversight

StockedWaters operates a programmatic data pipeline that ingests hundreds of thousands of public agency records. We believe in complete transparency regarding how technology and human judgment interact across our site:

• Programmatic Summaries: Historical metrics (such as average annual stocking frequency, seasonality distributions, and total fish stocked) are computed deterministically from verified agency rows using audited statistical functions.
• Human Editorial Guidance: Angling guides, tackle recommendations, species taxonomy profiles, and conservation advisories are written, reviewed, and maintained by human editors. We do not publish unreviewed automated text or synthetic hallucinations.
• Species Profiles: Curated national species profiles are researched and sourced from federal biological records (including U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries) and public-domain scientific illustrations by Duane Raver.

4. Commercial Independence & Affiliate Disclosure

To keep StockedWaters free and publicly accessible without paywalls, we participate in affiliate programs (such as the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program) and display digital advertising via Google AdSense.

We maintain a strict firewall between our commercial operations and our data:

• Zero Influence on Data: No agency, sponsor, tackle manufacturer, or advertiser can pay to alter, prioritize, fabricate, or suppress stocking data, schedules, or waterbody listings.
• Editorial Gear Selection: Products featured in tackle guides are selected solely based on their functional effectiveness for hatchery-conditioned fish behavior (e.g. floating dough bait rigs, inline spinners, circle hooks) and conservation standards.
• Clear Disclosure: Monetized links are clearly labeled with FTC-compliant notices and carryrel=“nofollow sponsored” attributes in compliance with search engine guidelines.

5. Corrections, Retractions & Accuracy Reporting

When an agency updates its data or when a discrepancy is discovered between our archive and the official agency portal, the official state agency record is always the final authority.

We take factual accuracy seriously and maintain an active correction process:

• Direct Error Reporting: Anglers and biologists can report discrepancies directly via our contact page or through the “Report a correction” link found on every waterbody page.
• Review SLA: We review reported data discrepancies within 24 to 48 hours, trace the record back through our ingestion pipeline, and deploy pipeline corrections as needed.

6. Conservation & Ethical Angling

Recreational angling plays a vital role in funding state wildlife preservation through the Sport Fish Restoration Act. StockedWaters actively advocates for ethical angling practices:

• Purchasing required state licenses to support local conservation and hatchery operations.
• Respecting daily bag limits and seasonal closures set by wildlife agencies.
• Minimizing catch-and-release mortality by using barbless hooks and practicing rapid handling in cool water.
• Avoiding fishing for coldwater salmonids during summer thermal stress events (water temperatures above 68°F / 20°C).

Editorial Inquiries

For questions about our editorial standards, data methodology, or partnership inquiries, contact founder Sharon Ben-Moshe at support@stockedwaters.app.