Saving Seafood

OREGON: Oregon to start testing ropeless crabbing gear next spring to stop whale entanglements

August 19, 2026 — Oregon fishermen will begin testing ropeless crabbing technology next spring in an effort to save whales from often-fatal entanglements.

The state since 2021 has taken steps to reduce whale entanglements, including requiring additional late season crabbing tags and limiting how many crabbing pots fishermen can use and how deep they can place them, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Marine Resources Program Manager Justin Ainsworth told the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in a meeting Friday.

But with whale entanglements increasing, commissioners are turning to two new tools to reduce whale deaths. Rules the commission adopted Friday will require fishermen to share their vessel location with state fishery managers and allow them to test ropeless crabbing gear already allowed in California.

Traditional commercial crabbing gear requires hundreds of traps to sit on the ocean floor, each attached to a vertical line connected to a buoy on the surface. Whales can easily get entangled and injured, often fatally, in those lines, as was the case with a humpback whale freed about 20 miles off the Oregon Coast in late July that wasn’t expected to survive because the entanglement left it unable to feed.

The pop-up gear the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife can begin authorizing as soon as spring 2027, however, stores the rope and buoy with the trap on the seafloor. Fishermen can set a timer or trigger a release mechanism that allows the line to uncoil and buoy to surface to retrieve the catch, ensuring whales and other creatures have a clear path most of the time.

Pop-up gear is currently unlawful because all pot and trap gear must be marked at the surface with a buoy. The proposed rule would allow the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to issue some experimental fishing gear permits as soon as spring 2027, and the commission could consider wider authorization if the tests prove effective.

Read the full article at the Astorian 

OREGON: ODFW Commission revises Dungeness crab fishery rules to address whale entanglements

August 17, 2026 — On Friday, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission revised rules to strengthen the department’s efforts to reducing whale entanglements in Oregon’s Dungeness crab fishery.

The revised rules include electronic vessel monitoring, including the installation of devices that provide a vessel’s location and other data. This requirement will take effect in February 2027.

The Commission also established additional criteria and guidelines for approving experimental fishing gear permits, allowing the exploration of alternative gear for the crab fishery that needs to be tested off the Oregon coast.

Read the full article at OPB

OREGON: Electronic vessel monitoring could come to Oregon fisheries by Dec. 1

July 13, 2026 — On Aug. 16, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Commission will decide if the department will implement electronic vessel monitoring and electronic logbook requirements for crabbing vessels working within the Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishery.

During the meeting, the department will hear public comment on the proposed rules which could make the systems required on board for vessels operating in Oregon fisheries as soon as Dec. 1.

Electronic monitoring is not new to West coast fisheries. In Washington and California, fishers have been required to use the monitoring systems for years. For “dual permit” fishers — fishers with permits for both Oregon and Washington — this is also already a regular practice.

In addition, electronic monitoring equipment is a small part of the department’s upcoming “conservation plan” which outlines how ODFW will take steps to reduce whale entanglements in the fishery.

Read the full article at the Seaside Signal

NOAA Fisheries Moves from Paper to Electronic Reporting

October 6, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries is moving away from paper vessel trip reporting requirements in the Greater Atlantic Region. Beginning on November 10, 2021, most fishermen permitted to fish federal marine waters from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to the Canadian border will be required to submit their vessel trip reports electronically. They must be submitted to NOAA Fisheries within 48 hours of the conclusion of a fishing trip. The new reporting requirement applies to all federally permitted vessels except those holding only a permit for American lobster.

Both the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils recommended to NOAA Fisheries that federally permitted commercial fishing vessels submit vessel trip reports electronically. Upon request of the New England Council, we are also extending this requirement to vessels issued for-hire (charter/party) permits for New England Council-managed fisheries (i.e., Northeast multispecies). Vessels issued a Mid-Atlantic Council for-hire permit have been required to submit vessel trip reports electronically since March 2018. This action is intended to increase data quality and timeliness of vessel trip reports.

Smooth Transition to Electronic Reporting

Captain Mark Palombo of the F/V Terri Ann out of Sandwich, Massachusetts has been using the new electronic reporting system since 2020. The transition for Mark was not difficult. He notes, “Any one of us technologically challenged people can figure it out.” Mark also found electronic trip reporting made it easier to sell to multiple dealers, track what he did and didn’t sell, and find required reporting information such as stat areas. In addition, electronic reporting gives you the ability to email the report to yourself so you have an electronic record of it. You can use pre-populated fields so you don’t have to look up and enter the same information repeatedly.

Vessel operators need a Fish Online account to use NOAA Fisheries electronic VTR  applications and to view their previously submitted eVTRs. However, they can also use other eVTR applications. We sent letters to vessel operators with instructions on the new eVTR reporting requirement and instructions on creating a Fish Online account online earlier this year.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

 

Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting: Upcoming Training Opportunities

September 7, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Beginning on November 10, 2021, all commercial vessels with federal permits for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic or New England Councils will be required to submit vessel trip reports (VTRs) electronically as eVTRs within 48 hours of the end of a trip. Additional information about the new requirements is available on the Mid-Atlantic Council’s Commercial eVTR page.

Vessel owners and operators are encouraged to transition to electronic reporting as soon as possible. There are several NOAA Fisheries-approved eVTR applications to choose from. Visit the NOAA Fisheries eVTR Software Options page for detailed information about approved applications and other aspects of electronic reporting. NOAA Fisheries has also developed a Decision Tree to help permit holders determine which reporting applications will best meet their needs.

eVTR Training Opportunities

MAFMC eTrips/Mobile 2 Training Webinar

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will host a training webinar on Wednesday, September 15th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. This webinar will include a step-by-step tutorial of ACCSP’s free software application eTrips/Mobile 2 followed by time for questions. This app is compatible with Windows 10 (PC), and both Apple/Android phone and tablet platforms. To benefit from this workshop, we recommend downloading the eTrips Mobile 2 app and obtaining a SAFIS Username and Password before the workshop. Visit the event page for details and webinar connection information. Contact Andy Loftus, MAFMC eVTR Outreach Liaison, with any questions.

NOAA Fisheries Instructional Webinars

NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office is holding weekly, regionally-focused instructional webinars throughout the remainder of the summer and into the fall until implementation on November 10, 2021. The next webinar will be held on Tuesday, September 7, 2021, 4:00 – 6:00 p.m., and will focus on Northern New Jersey. Visit the event page for a complete list of webinar dates, connection information, and recordings from past webinars.