March 28, 2017 — Groundfish Days-at-Sea Leasing Deadline Extended to March 31
NOAA Fisheries announces an extension of the 2016 Days-at-Sea leasing deadline for the northeast multispecies fishery. If you hold a groundfish permit for 2016, you may submit DAS leases through March 31.
2017 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Levels for Groundfish Sector Fishery
NOAA Fisheries announces that for fishing year 2017 the total target At-Sea monitoring coverage level is 16 percent of all groundfish sector trips.
This target coverage level is a two-percentage point increase from the 2016 coverage level (14 percent). As the target coverage level is set based on an average of
Federally funded observer coverage provided by the Northeast Fishery Observer Program to meet the Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) requirements will partially satisfy the 16 percent coverage requirement. Sectors will therefore actually pay for At-Sea monitoring coverage on less than 16 percent of their groundfish trips, but the total will depend on the SBRM coverage rates, which are not yet out.
We expect to be able to reimburse sectors for some portion of their ASM costs. We do not yet have the information we need to determine the reimbursement rate. We were able to reimburse 85 percent of At-Sea monitoring costs in 2016, but expect the 2017 reimbursement rate to be lower.