September 28, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries has announced a plan to cover the 2018 costs of at-sea monitoring for ground fish sector vessels in the Northeast.
The agency also plans to contribute more reimbursements to vessels for the 2017 at-sea costs, bringing the total reimbursement for that year up to 85-percent.
The at-sea monitors participate in a series of sector trips to estimate the total catch of quota of the species kept and discarded by the vessel. NOAA says at-sea monitoring also helps groundfish vessels keep track of the pace to which they fill their quotas for each species.
“Effective at-sea monitoring is essential to the success and sustainability of this fishery. This $10.3 million increase from Congress for groundfish at-sea monitoring provides additional economic stability for the sector vessels,” said Northeast Fisheries Science Center Director Jon Hare.