July 3, 2025 — For the first time in 30 years, NOAA Fisheries is modernizing our Atlantic Coast logbook reporting systems for both commercial and for-hire fishermen. We will increase our data sharing capabilities and simplify and speed up the reporting process for fishermen, which could reduce costs. In fact, our Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office benefited from $300,000 annual cost savings after moving to paperless reporting and permitting.
Previously, we collected similar information on vessels, effort, and catch in separate systems. This resulted in redundant data entries and data management systems doing similar tasks, duplicating processes and information. Now, we are modernizing our five science center logbook systems:
- Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office Vessel Trip Reporting
- Southeast Regional Office For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting
- Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Pelagic Fisheries Logbook
- Southeast Commercial Fisheries Logbook
- Southeast Headboat
The goal is to have all federal logbook data from Maine through Texas collected electronically and available in a centralized, standardized system. We will also improve the data quality, resilience, reliability, and accessibility of all five reporting systems. Our focus is on the data collected from fishing trips and the information systems used to gather and process those data. This initiative also aims to enhance support for critical monitoring requirements—such as quota monitoring and stock assessments—and provide timely, high-quality data for fishery managers.
Ultimately, we seek a more efficient process of storing and sharing data. This new integrated database system will source from data captured across multiple offices, allowing us to increase information sharing and prevent duplicative entries. It will also set the foundation for creating a logbook application framework for use by others.