Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Fishermen voice opposition to electronic monitoring bill

February 29, 2024 — Alaska fishermen and industry representatives have been concerned with the cost of electronic monitoring. Senate Bill 209 put in place would allow the Board of Fisheries in AK to require electronic monitoring within state fisheries. Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced the bills last month, making it possible to use electronic monitoring instead of mandatory observers aboard fishing vessels.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game would manage the program. According to KFSK, commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang told the Senate Labor and Commerce Committee that the bill is meant to create another tool for fisheries enforcement.

“I think the question comes down to right now, the only tool that the board has, when they’re concerned about a fishery, and the potential for some violation occurring in that fishery, is to put an observer on board. They don’t have any other options. I think adding this tool to the toolbox gives the board another option.” Vincent-Lang shared.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Feds to monitor 100% of New England commercial fishing to protect at-risk species

April 13, 2022 — The federal government has approved a proposal to increase at-sea monitoring of some commercial fishing trips to 100 percent.

At-sea monitors are workers who collect data on board commercial fishing boats to help inform regulations and management of species. The government approved the new, higher percentage of trip cover on Tuesday, said Michael Pentony, a regional administrator with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

The rules apply to valuable species that are harvested in the Northeast such as cod, haddock, and flounder. Pentony said the new rules will replace the old process of calculating a target for the level of monitoring coverage every year.

The coverage target will instead be 100 percent for four years as long as federal funding can support agency and industry costs, he wrote in a letter to fishery managers.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Rule change calls for monitoring of all groundfish trips

March 23, 2022 — Webinars on proposed changes to how the commercial groundfish sector monitors its catch, both with monitors at sea and electronically, will be held this week by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office of NOAA Fisheries (GARFO) in Gloucester.

The most significant proposed change is a monitoring coverage target of 100% aboard eligible trips, which is higher than present monitoring levels. The change is meant to remove uncertainty surrounding catch. This and other changes — known as Amendment 23— to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan were developed by the Newburyport-based New England Fishery Management Council.

The informational webinars on the changes are scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, Thursday, March 24, and Monday, April 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. The March events will focus on fishing industry members and the April event will focus on monitoring service providers.

According to a NOAA Fisheries fact sheet, the changes, if approved by NOAA Fisheries, would give groundfish vessels the choice of a human observer or using one of two types of electronic monitoring to meet the increased monitoring requirements, provided the sector has a corresponding approved monitoring plan and a contract with an approved service provider.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Coonamessett Farm Foundation awarded contract for at-sea monitoring training

February 15, 2022 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation, Inc. (CFF) located in East Falmouth, MA was recently awarded a 2-year contract through the Atlantic States Fisheries Marine Commission, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), to provide supplemental At-Sea Monitoring training sessions. These classes are critical to increasing the groundfish monitoring coverage rate to 100%, as stipulated under Amendment 23 of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. CFF, a recognized leader in sustainable fisheries and cooperative industry research, employs highly skilled instructors on staff that will begin training at-sea monitors for at-sea deployment by the NEFSC.

The At-Sea Monitoring Groundfish Program began in 2010 when the Northeast Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Office finalized the creation of the sector quota management system for federally permitted groundfish vessels. There are 13 commercially viable fish stocks such as Atlantic cod, redfish, haddock, and winter flounder that are managed as part of the Northeast species complex through sector allocations. Currently, based on geographical location within federal waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, there are 20 recognized stocks that make up the groundfish complex.

Employed by observer/monitor service providers, certified at-sea monitors work directly with groundfish vessel captains and crews throughout the Northeast region and serve as NOAA Fisheries contractors. They are an important and vital link between industry, stock assessment biologists, and federal managers. Monitors are instructed in species identification, with core training components related to collecting haul level catch data of kept and discarded species; verification of area fished; and gear types used. During training, monitors undergo 3 days of instruction in vessel emergency and safety with hands-on field exercises to prepare them for working aboard commercial fishing vessels that range in size from 35 and 95 feet.

With guidance from training and data quality staff at the NEFSC, CFF plans to lead several trainings during the 2022-2023 season. In class training will be led by CFF ASM trainers, Tanner Fernandes and Taylor Irwin, former monitors and observers who joined CFF in 2021 to support this program. The NEFSC will advise on the need for additional training classes and provide ongoing support to CFF throughout this contract.

Fishermen sue to end industry-funded monitoring program

February 9, 2022 — A group of fishing companies in New England is bringing its bid to try to end industry-funded monitoring programs to federal appeals court.

The companies are part of the industry that harvests Atlantic herring, which are heavily fished off the East Coast. The federal government requires herring fishing boats to participate in, and pay for, at-sea monitoring programs.

The government and some environmental groups have said the industry-funded monitoring programs are vitally important to collect data that helps craft fishing rules. But members of the industry have argued the monitors, who are on-board workers, cost hundreds of dollars a day and can make it impossible to turn a profit.

Read the full story at the AP

Potential Groundfish Sector Monitoring Providers

September 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

If your company is not currently an approved at-sea monitoring (ASM) and/or electronic monitoring (EM) provider and you would like to provide monitoring services to groundfish sectors in fishing year 2022 (May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023), you must submit an application by October 15, 2021.  Companies already approved to provide ASM or EM services in fishing years 2021 and 2022 do not need to apply again in order to provide those services in 2022.  Companies not already approved to provide either ASM or EM services in fishing years 2021 and 2022 need to apply for approval for the respective service in 2022.

Applications must include a cover letter and the information and statements identified in the regulations at 50 CFR 648.87(b)(4).  In your cover letter, please specify whether you are interested in providing ASM services, EM services, or both.  Companies interested in providing both ASM and EM services must develop separate ASM and EM deployment plans to meet the service provider performance standards (§ 648.87(b)(4)(ii)(A)).

We will review your application in accordance with the third-party monitoring provider standards (§ 648.87(b)(4) and (5)).  Please review the regulations describing ASM and EM provider and operational standards carefully, including the requirements for signed statements.  Approvals will cover fishing year 2022, and final decisions will be published in the Federal Register.  There will be a future opportunity to apply for a two-year approval for fishing years 2023 and 2024.

Please use Kiteworks, a secure file-sharing service, to submit the requested documents by October 15, 2021, to Claire Fitz-Gerald and Kyle Molton.  If you need help creating a Kiteworks account, please contact Claire Fitz-Gerald for assistance. The bulletin announcement can be found here.

 

ASMFC & NOAA Fisheries Select Coonamessett Farm Foundation to Conduct Components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program

August 24, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), has selected the Coonamessett Farm Foundation to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for NEFSC. Training will include identifying target and bycatch species in Atlantic groundfish fisheries, collecting and reporting fisheries-dependent data following federal guidelines, and instruction in offshore safety and survival.

At-sea monitors collect data aboard commercial fishing vessels that are used to manage and monitor annual catch limits in the Northeast groundfish sectors. A sharp increase in the required ASM coverage rate (up to 100%) and observer attrition during the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the need for approximately 140 new at-sea monitors. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will take on the majority of the training with support from NEFSC. ASM training by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation will start this year and extend at least through 2022.

To learn more about becoming an at-sea monitor, contact one of the companies that provides at-sea monitors to the NEFSC’s Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. A list is posted here:
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/fisheries-observers/sea-monitoring-northeast

For more information on Coonamessett Farm Foundation ASM training award, please contact Tania Lewandowski (Tania.Lewandowski@noaa.gov), Tasha O’Hara (tohara@cfarm.org), or Quinn McWatters (qmcwatters@cfarm.org).

Industry-Funded Monitoring Coverage in the Atlantic Herring Fishery Will Begin on July 1, 2021

May 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Beginning on July 1, 2021, NOAA Fisheries will begin selecting vessels with Category A or B herring permits fishing on declared herring trips for industry-funded monitoring (IFM) coverage. Vessels issued a Category A or B Atlantic herring permit will be required to secure and pay for at-sea monitoring coverage on trips that are selected for IFM coverage.

These vessels must log into their Pre-Trip Notification System (PTNS) web account to review the list of approved providers in PTNS and rank them in order of preference. Vessels should rank their providers in PTNS by June 20, 2021 to avoid any delays in the IFM assignment process.

For more information, go to our IFM website, which includes information on reporting requirements, approved IFM providers, the midwater trawl electronic monitoring exempted fishing permit, and other details.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Carrie Nordeen, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9272

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

Deadline Extended: ASMFC Still Seeks Proposals for At-Sea Monitoring Trainers

May 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for the center. The submission deadline has been extended to May 24, 2021.

NOAA Fisheries is required to collect biological and compliance data aboard U.S. domestic fishing vessels, data which cannot be obtained at the dock or on research vessels. Specifically, observer data is essential to reliably estimating catch and bycatch, and in helping to implement programs to reduce bycatch. A sharp increase to the coverage rate (up to 100%) for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery in Fishing Year 2022 and observer attrition during the 2020 fishing year have resulted in the need for approximately 140 new at-sea monitors.

The awardee shall provide and retain the necessary qualified personnel, materials, equipment, services, and facilities to conduct components of the ASM training for the Center. The Awardee shall conduct approximately 4-6 trainings per year. The training will be conducted as a collaborative effort between NOAA Fisheries and the Awardee; where some components of the training will be conducted by the Awardee and some training components will be conducted by NOAA Fisheries.

Application Instructions

Applicants seeking to apply to the RFP must submit, as a single file, an electronic proposal by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on May 24, 2021. Please see the RFP online for complete proposal details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions.

For More Information:

Please contact Deke Tompkins at dtompkins@asmfc.org or (313) 303-2623.

Press contact: Tina Berger, (703) 842-0740

Submission Deadline for Proposals to Conduct Components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program Extended to May 24, 2021

May 13, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), is extending the submission deadline for proposals to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for the NEFSC. The deadline is extended until May 24, 2021 (previously May 19, 2021). The complete Request for Proposals (RFP) can be found here. For more information, please contact Deke Tompkins at dtompkins@asmfc.org.