Electronic Monitoring Vendor Certification for Pelagic Longline Monitoring Areas

NOAA Fisheries is requesting applications from electronic monitoring vendors interested in providing electronic monitoring services to Atlantic highly migratory species pelagic longline vessels fishing in newly established pelagic longline monitoring areas. Certified electronic monitoring electronic monitoring vendors can work directly with vessel owners to meet relevant monitoring area requirements. This includes creating a vessel monitoring plan and enhanced video review of sets on trips that occur wholly or partially in monitoring areas. The full list of vendor and vessel requirements can be found in the compliance guide below.

Electronic monitoring vendors interested in certification must submit a complete application for consideration. There is no application form or deadline, and electronic monitoring vendors can submit application materials at any time. Please submit application materials to HMS.monitoring@noaa.gov

Interested electronic monitoring vendors should submit the following:

• Identification of the management, organizational structure, and ownership structure of the applicant’s business including identification by name and general function of all controlling management interests in the company, including but not limited to owners, board members, officers, authorized agents, and staff. If the applicant is a corporation, the articles of incorporation must be provided. If the applicant is a partnership, the partnership agreement must be provided.
• List of all physical and electronic mailing addresses and any relevant phone or fax numbers where the owner(s) can be contacted for correspondence.
• Current physical location for each office.
• Description of the applicant’s ability to carry out responsibilities and duties of electronic monitoring vendors.
• A statement signed under penalty of perjury by an authorized agent of the applicant electronic monitoring vendor that each owner, board member, officer, and employee of the electronic monitoring vendor has no conflict of interest. An absence of a conflict of interest requires that, other than providing electronic monitoring services to vessel owners and/or operators in the fishery, a certified electronic monitoring vendor and its employees must not: have a direct or indirect interest in a fishery managed under Federal regulations, including, but not limited to, a fishing vessel, fish dealer, and/or fishery advocacy group; or solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gratuity, gift, favor, entertainment, loan, or anything of monetary value from anyone who conducts fishing or fishing related activities that are regulated by NOAA Fisheries, or who has interests that may be substantially affected by the performance or non-performance of the responsibilities and duties of an electronic monitoring vendor.
• Procedures for hiring and training of competent program staff to carry out electronic monitoring field services and data services, including procedures to train, and maintain the skills of, electronic monitoring data processing staff in: use of data processing software; species identification; metadata reporting requirements; data processing procedures; data tracking; and reporting and data upload procedures.