January 29, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council & Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:
The New England Fishery Management Council and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have taken final action on an omnibus framework adjustment that will require commercial fishermen to submit vessel trip reports (VTRs) electronically as eVTRs instead of on paper for all species managed by both Councils. The Mid-Atlantic Council initiated the action in December of 2018 and signed off on the framework during its December 2019 meeting. The New England Council joined the framework in June of 2019 and took final action during its late-January 2020 meeting in Portsmouth, NH.
Once approved and implemented by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries), the framework will:
- Require commercial vessels with federal permits for all species managed by both Councils to submit currently required VTRs to NOAA Fisheries through electronic means; and
- Change the VTR reporting deadline to 48 hours after entering port at the conclusion of the trip.