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November 20th Webinar on Options for Electronic Reporting of Commercial Fishing Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) in the Greater Atlantic

November 4, 2019 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) are considering an action that will require commercial fishing operators holding federal permits for species managed by either Council to report their Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) electronically rather than on paper. Fisheries covered include:

  • Atlantic Bluefish
  • Black Sea Bass
  • Scup
  • Summer Flounder
  • Spiny Dogfish
  • Tilefish
  • Squid
  • Atlantic Mackerel
  • Butterfish
  • Surfclam
  • Ocean Quahog
  • Northeast Multispecies (groundfish)
  • Monkfish
  • Atlantic Herring
  • Skates
  • Small-Mesh Multispecies (whiting/hake)
  • Red Crab
  • Sea Scallop

Electronic Vessel Trip Reports (eVTRs) allow direct entry of data by the vessel operator using an electronic-based system (computer, smart phone, tablet). They have been an option for some fisheries since 2011 and all fisheries since 2013. These eVTRs have been required for all of the Mid-Atlantic and some of the New England for-hire fleet (due to also holding MAFMC permits) since 2018.
November 20 Commercial eVTR Webinar

In preparation for a possible transition to required electronic reporting for the commercial fleet, the MAFMC will host a webinar to review eVTR options, initial steps necessary for commercial operators to begin reporting electronically, and a demonstration of two of the most popular electronic reporting applications (with limited time for questions).
Date/Time: Wednesday, November 20, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., EST
To Connect: Via webinar http://mafmc.adobeconnect.com/evtr_publicmtg/ with a telephone audio connection (provided when connecting).
Audio only access: Conference phone number: 1–800–832–0736; Room Number: 5765379.
Note: The webinar will be recorded and made available on the MAFMC website (www.mafmc.org) for later viewing.

For additional information on the proposed action and resources for commercial fishing operators, or to sign up for notices specific to the eVTR action, visit http://www.mafmc.org/actions/commercial-evtr-framework.

Managers still fishing for better monitor plan

November 1, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council continues to fashion the amendment that will set future monitoring coverage levels for the Northeast groundfish fleet and now expects the measure won’t go out for public comment or hearings until early spring of 2020.

Janice Plante, spokeswoman for the council, said Thursday that the council’s various groundfish committees and panels continue work on the measure, known as Amendment 23, pouring over the full range of alternatives now expected to be presented to the council for a vote at its Jan. 28-30 meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Those alternatives, along with the draft environmental impact statement that includes the analyses for the respective alternatives, then will go out for public comment and hearings in advance of final action by the council next summer.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

PFMC: Groundfish Stock Assessment Process Review Webinar to be Held Friday, 12/13/2019

October 30, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

Participants in the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Pacific Council’s) 2019 groundfish stock assessment process will hold a meeting via webinar to review and evaluate the 2019 stock assessment review (STAR) process.  The webinar will be held on Friday, December 13, 2019 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Standard Time) or until business for the day has been completed.  The goal of the webinar is to solicit process improvements to recommend for future groundfish stock assessments and STAR panel reviews.  Process recommendations will be provided to the Pacific Council at their March 2020 meeting in Rohnert Park, California.

Please see the Groundfish Stock Assessment Process Review Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer John DeVore  at 503-820-2413; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Fishermen Use Electronic Reporting in Real Time to Help Understand Ocean Ecosystem

October 18, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — It’s been almost 15 years since New England groundfish fishermen began monitoring data from their hauls, bottom temperatures from gauges connected to their gear, numbers and types of discards, and other fishing observations to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologists.

The Study Fleet, a pilot project of the Cooperative Research Program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), began by assembling commercial New England groundfish vessels willing to provide high resolution or haul-by-haul self-reported data on catch, effort and environmental conditions while conducting normal fishing operations.

“If we are going to manage the ocean, we need to understand it, and participating in programs like this helps me as a fisherman to understand what is going on,” David Goethel, captain of the F/V Ellen Diane said in an interview in 2008. “It also helps the scientists learn how fishermen do things, what knowledge and skills they have. Everybody learns.”

Seven years ago, New Bedford fisherman Tony Borges joined the group and began to get useful real-time information from monitoring.

The software both fishermen use is called Fisheries Logbook Data Recording Software (FLDRS or “Flounders”). Study Fleet vessels may also collect biological data from their catch when additional data needs are identified by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center scientists.

“We verify what is being reported by the captain and crew both at sea and through statistical data quality checks. Vessel owners are financially compensated for their participation in the Study Fleet,” said Bill Duffy, Port Agent, Greater Atlantic Region.

Borges, who fishes groundfish, fluke and squid, get useful real-time information from monitoring.

“It helps me as a fisherman, since the water temperature at the bottom tells me when I am on fish, and if I move away a couple of degrees, it makes a big difference to what I catch,” said Borges.

“When he sells the fish, NOAA Fisheries can check his data against the dealer report. We can get information on where the fish was caught, the water temperature data for that tow, and the reported catch for that tow,” said Duffy.

“This provides valuable information to fisheries scientists and managers who evaluate the health of the stocks. They can incorporate data like these into their research and assessments. For fishermen, participating in Study Fleet allows them to contribute quantitative information to scientific research and improve understanding of the northeast’s complex ocean ecosystem.”

Duffy and the fleet are working to develop an app called Graphic Offshore Fishing Information System Homepage (GOFISH) that will allow commercial fishing captains and vessel owners to map, graph, and analyze the data they have entered through FLDRS. The GOFISH app produces temperature-depth plots, bycatch analysis graphics, and other visualizations that can assist in fishing operations. The data remain the property of the vessel owner, but can also be used in research to improve our understanding of marine ecosystems.

Electronic monitoring is not an easy sell to fishermen who have learned through years of experiencing the ocean, the weather, and the vagaries of stock movements. They trust their instincts.

“Nobody likes it, let’s be honest, nobody likes to be monitored, nobody likes observers,” says Borges. Instead, Borges suggests, “Let us do our stuff out there and monitor us at the dock, make it so you can’t unload without a monitor.”

But the value of the information is worth any inconvenience, and Borges knows how important it is to manage the resource sustainably.

“Imagine if we had this data 40 years ago,” Borges said.

In 2008, when the system had been running for only a few years, Bill Lee expressed the same sentiment about the importance of data from the fishermen. Lee was captain and owner of the F/V Ocean Reporter from Rockport, Mass., and been involved in NOAA’s Cooperative Research Program and the Study Fleet project from the beginning.

“It is very important to have fishermen involved in the research about their industry,” he said. “The only way we are going to get things to improve is to participate in the process. I get frustrated at times that things haven’t moved further forward, but at least they are moving in the right direction.

“It is all about cooperation. Scientists need and want data about the ocean, and fishermen can help provide that,” Lee said.

In January 2008, the Study Fleet project expanded into two data-poor fisheries, hagfish and tilefish. Mike Palmer, a NEFSC fisheries biologist, said the study fleets have the highest chance of improving stock assessments in data-poor fisheries where there is limited observer coverage and species are not sampled well by NEFSC surveys.

The Cooperative Research Program, of which the Study Fleet project is a part, was established in 1999 by NOAA Fisheries to involve the fishing industry directly in planning and conducting studies that provide useful information for managing fisheries.

When the electronic logbook system was field-tested nearly twenty years ago (between November 2002 and August 2005) about 1,100 trips were reported by 33 vessels using the system in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic Bight.

Data were more accurate and precise than that provided by fishing vessel trip reports in terms of identifying the area of fishing and the duration of effort, and more timely because of the electronic collection and at-sea transmission.

“Sometimes fishermen are surprised by the results from a cooperative research project, but they know they are accurate because they were there,” Goethel said. “The results speak for themselves. We need more efforts like this. There is a lot to be gained for everyone.”

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It was reprinted with permission.

Groundfish Forum forecasts only marginal lift in 2020 whitefish supply

October 17, 2019 — The supply of the big stocks of wild whitefish are set to remain stable for 2020, lifting by less than 1%, according to a forecast from the Groundfish Forum.

The forecast at the forum for the US supply of Alaska pollock for 2020 is 1.528 million metric tons, down from 1.552m in 2019. Undercurrent News previously reported the science on pollock points to possible cuts in the next couple of years.

For Russian pollock, the forum predicts a slight lift in supply for 2020, from 1.685m metric tons to 1.70m. Global pollock supply is set to be 3.44m metric tons, down marginally from 2019’s 3.45m.

For Atlantic cod, the total supply is forecast to rise very slightly, from 1.131m metric tons in 2019 to 1.132m. In June, the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advised the cod quota in the Barents Sea for 2020 be set at a level 2% higher than its advised level for 2019 of 674,678t. At 689,672t, its 2020 advice comes in at 5% lower than the total allowable catch for 2019 set by the Norwegians and Russians, of 725,000t.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

A Fishermen’s Perspective on Electronic Reporting

October 15, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For 200 days of each of the past 44 years, Tony Borges has been setting out from New Bedford, Massachusetts in search of groundfish, fluke, and squid. That’s roughly 8,800 days for those of you keeping score at home. He started fishing with his father, though Borges says his father tried to dissuade him from being a fisherman. He encouraged Borges to join the U.S. Coast Guard instead.

Nevertheless, in 1977, along with his cousin, aunt, and father, he purchased the brand new FV Sao Paulo. He still owns and operates it today.

For the last seven years, Borges has also been participating in the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Study Fleet. As part of this scientific data collection program, he records haul-by-haul catch (kept and discarded) information for all species.

When I met Borges early one morning on the Sao Paulo, he was down in the engine room covered in grease. He was working on his vessel’s first complete overhaul in 40 years!

Read the full story.

PFMC: Groundfish Management Team to Hold Webinar November 5, 2019

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s  Groundfish Management Team (GMT) will convene a webinar meeting to discuss items on the Pacific Council’s November 2019 meeting agenda.  The webinar will be held Tuesday, November 5, 2019 from 12 p.m. until 4 p.m. Pacific Standard Time.  The webinar end time is an estimate, the meeting will adjourn when business for the day is completed.  This meeting is open to the public.

Please see the Groundfish Management Team Webinar Notice on the Council’s website for participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Mr. Todd Phillips  at 503-820-2426; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

PFMC: November 14-20, 2019 PFMC Meeting Notice and Agenda Now Available

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 14‐20, 2019 in Costa Mesa, California, to address issues related to groundfish, salmon, Pacific halibut, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, habitat, and administrative matters. The meeting of the Council and its advisory entities will be held at the Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa Hotel, 3050 Bristol Street, Costa Mesa, CA 92626; telephone, 714‐540‐7000.

Please see the November 14-20, 2019 Council Meeting notice on the Council’s website for meeting detail, schedule of advisory body meetings, our new E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines.

Key agenda items for the meeting include Council considerations to:

  • Adopt Final Salmon Methodology Changes for 2020 and Beyond
  • Adopt Final 2020 Salmon Preseason Management Schedule and Consider an Annual Management Cycle Amendment
  • Review Updated Risk Assessment and Provide Final Recommendations for Southern Residence Killer Whale Endangered Species Act Consultation, as Appropriate
  • Adopt Final Changes for the 2020 Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan and Annual Fishery Regulations
  • Adopt Final Regulations for the 2020 Commercial Directed Pacific Halibut Fishery and Scope Future Transition of Management
    Provide Final Recommendations on Revised Electronic Monitoring Guidelines and Draft Program Manual and Provide Guidance on Implementation
  • Adopt Final Preferred Alternatives for 2020 Harvest Specifications for Cowcod and Shortbelly Rockfish
  • Adopt Final 2021‐2022 Groundfish Harvest Specifications and Preliminary Management Measures
  • Adopt Pacific Whiting Yield Set‐Asides for 2020 and Final Action on Groundfish Fishery Inseason Adjustments
  • Scope a Highly Migratory Species Plan Amendment Authorizing Shallow Set Longline Gear Outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone
  • Review Methodologies for Estimating Nearshore Abundance of the Central Subpopulation of Northern Anchovy, Consider the Frequency of Review of Overfishing Limits, and Consider Alternatives for Accountability Measures

For further information:

Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff at 503-820-2280; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

NEFMC SSC – Listen Live – October 17-18, 2019 – Groundfish and Scallops

October 10, 2019 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will meet on Thursday, October 17 and Friday, October 18, 2019.  The public is invited to attend in person or listen live via webinar or telephone.  Here are the details.

LOCATION:  Hilton Garden Inn – Boston Logan Airport.

START TIME:  10:00 a.m. on Thursday and 8:30 a.m. on Friday.

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:  Online access to the meeting will be available at Listen Live.  There will be no charge to access the meeting through this webinar.

CALL-IN OPTION:  To listen by telephone, dial +1 (415) 655-0060.  The access code is 335-319-803.  Please be aware that if you dial in, your regular phone charges will apply.

AGENDA:  The SSC will meet to:

  • Review recent information from the 2019 Groundfish Management Track Assessments, as well as information from the Council’s Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), and provide overfishing limit (OFL) and acceptable biological catch (ABC) recommendations for the 2020-2022 groundfish fishing years for the following stocks: Georges Bank (GB) cod; Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod; GB haddock; GOM haddock; Cape Cod/GOM yellowtail flounder; Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic yellowtail flounder; GB winter flounder; American plaice; witch flounder; pollock; white hake; Atlantic halibut; northern windowpane flounder; and southern windowpane flounder;
  • Review information provided by the Council’s Scallop PDT and recommend OFLs and ABCs for Atlantic sea scallops for the 2020 and 2021 fishing years with 2021 being default specifications; and
  • Discuss other business as necessary.
COMMENTS:  The deadline for submitting written comments for consideration at this meeting is 8:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 15, 2019.  Address comments to Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn or Executive Director Tom Nies and email them to comments@nefmc.org.  The address for mailing comments is:  New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill #2, Newburyport, MA 01950.
 
MATERIALS:  Meeting materials will be posted on the Council’s website at SSC October 17-18, 2019 documents.
 
QUESTIONS:  Contact Joan O’Leary at (978) 465-0492 ext. 101, joleary@nefmc.org or Janice Plante at (607) 592-4817,jplante@nefmc.org.

Devastating Collapse of Groundfish Fishery Forces a More Sustainable Future

October 9, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The groundfish fishery closures in 2002 were sweeping. Hundreds of thousands of square miles of West Coast waters shut off to the very same bottom fishing that had many fishing ports booming in the previous decade. The Secretary of Commerce declared the 2000 groundfish fishery a failure, with losses to fishermen estimated at $11 million.

The rockfish boom was going bust.

“Behind the sweeping action is a reluctant realization that the vast ocean has limits and cannot, as was long believed, provide an inexhaustible supply of fish,” the Los Angeles Times said in announcing the closures that in effect created the largest marine reserve ever off the West Coast. The closures covered most of the continental shelf, home to nearly 100 different species of rockfish.

Scientists estimated that some of those fish could take nearly a century to rebuild.

“It was devastating,” said Jason Cope, a research fish biologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle who worked on teams assessing the decline of groundfish. “It radically altered people’s expectations of their livelihood. Suddenly a future they thought was reliable turned out to be anything but.”

Read the full release here

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