At its June 2019 meeting, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) requested that NOAA Fisheries implement a federal requirement for the groundfish trawl logbook program for catcher vessels in the Shorebased Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Program. The trawl logbook program has been in place since the 1980’s as a state requirement. We notified you on February 19, 2019, that the State of California will end its state requirement for the logbook as of July 1, 2019, and that NOAA Fisheries intended to create a federal requirement to continue collecting this information for trawl vessels landing in California.
We are working quickly to publish a rule to implement the federal trawl logbook reporting requirement. While we expect the new rule to be effective in early July 2019, there may be a brief lapse in the requirement after July 1, 2019. We request industry assistance with continuing to collect this information during any lapse in the requirement.
Logbooks for fishing that occurred in June for vessels landing in California will be due on July 10, 2019, to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Logbooks for fishing in July and thereafter for vessels landing in California will be due to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. As a reminder, there will be no change to the existing process of logbook collection for trawl catcher vessels in the Shorebased IFQ Program landing in Oregon or Washington.
We will provide additional notification when the rule publishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will there be a change in the data I need to submit or how often I need to submit it?
No. NOAA Fisheries will use the existing trawl logbook form, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission will continue to provide and distribute copies of the logbook to affected vessels. Logbooks will continue to be due on the 10th of the month after which fishing activities have occurred.
I usually land in California, where do I need to send my logbooks now?
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission will now collect your trawl logbooks. Based on where you typically fish, you can mail your completed logbooks to one of these addresses:
National Marine Fisheries Service, West Coast Region
For vessels north of 38° N. latitude (north of Bodega Bay), send to:
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
619 2nd Street
Eureka, CA 95501
For vessels south of 38° N. latitude (south of Bodega Bay), send to:
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
350 Harbor Blvd.
Belmont, CA 94002
How do I get new logbooks?
You can contact your nearest Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission office, contact your local Groundfish Port Sampler, or call (650) 631-6740 to obtain additional copies.
I submit logbooks in Washington and Oregon, will there be a change for me?
No. For vessels in Washington and Oregon, the state logbook submission requirements will remain the same.
I only fish in the at-sea whiting fishery, will I need to start filling out this logbook?
No. This trawl logbook only applies to vessels fishing in the Shorebased IFQ Program.
I fish under an electronic monitoring (EM) exempted fishing permit (EFP), does this action affect me?
This action will not change the requirements of the EM EFP, which include the logbook. Any trawl vessels landing in California that fish under the EM EFP should continue to submit their logbooks according to the requirements of the EFP and will not be subject to duplicative reporting requirements under this new action.
