The SWFSC Data Portal is intended to collect information about the SWFSC data holdings, to organize the information into an easily accessible format, and to disseminate this information as deemed appropriate by the data managers responsible for the various data holdings.

The Southwest Fisheries Science Center is a research component of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), an agency of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Center provides scientific support within NMFS Southwest Region. It maintains three research facilities: the La Jolla Laboratory, in La Jolla, California (headquarters); the Santa Cruz Laboratory in Santa Cruz, California; and the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory in Pacific Grove, California.

The mission of the Center is to provide scientific information for conserving and managing U.S. and world fisheries, populations of protected marine species, and marine and coastal habitats. Research is conducted to estimate the biological, environmental and economic impacts of different fisheries management options, and advice is given to U.S. fishery management councils and international organizations that manage living marine resources.