NOAA Fisheries Service announces their expectation to provide increased at-sea monitoring for all segments of the Northeast multi-species fishery for the 2010 fishing year. President Obama’s 2010 budget has proposed sufficient funding for NOAA to contract additional at-sea monitors to supplement the observer coverage currently provided through the Northeast Fishery Observer Program (NEFOP) to support the Standardized By-catch Reporting Methodology (SBRM). Although Congress still must agree to support this funding, NOAA has begun planning to provide this increased coverage.
The notice in part reads,
"…Sector managers have been notified that NMFS also expects to provide at least 30% at-sea monitoring coverage, in addition to NEFOP SBRM observer coverage, for vessels fishing under the newly expanded sector management program…"