May 26, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of our conversion to online permitting and eVTR, we are changing the way that vessel owners and operators login to Fish Online starting June 1.

To access Fish Online, instead of entering your permit number and PIN combination, you must now login using your personal Fish Online user account. We made this change to increase your account security and to enable vessel owners to give access, or “entitlements,” to their vessel records to other trusted people while managing multiple vessels in one account. We began implementing this process in 2020 and continue to reach out to vessel owners and operators to provide information and offer technical assistance.

Vessel Owners

Earlier this year, in anticipation of our annual vessel permit renewal season, we mailed instructions to vessel owners on how to update their accounts. Owners must use their user accounts to:

• Use services such as permit renewals and electronic reporting.
• Review landings data submitted by operators and dealers.
• Provide account access to other trusted people.
• Manage multiple vessels in one account.

If you are a vessel owner and have not yet created your login credentials, we strongly encourage you to do so by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either a Credential Security Code (CSC) or by calling our Help Desk.

Vessel Operators

Vessel operators also need a Fish Online account to use any of GARFO’s eVTR applications and to view their previously submitted eVTRs. Starting last month, we began sending notices to vessel operators and will continue this process throughout the summer. Once vessel operators receive a letter in the mail, if they have not already, they should create their user accounts as soon as possible by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either the Credential Security Code (CSC) in the letter we mailed to you or by calling our Help Desk.

Questions?

For assistance with obtaining your CSC code, entitling vessels, or creating your Fish Online user account:

• Call our Vessel Reporting Help Desk at 978 -281-9188 from the phone number listed on your vessel permit. This is needed to verify your identity.
• Contact your local Port Agent.