If you would like to provide Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) services (observing, at-sea monitoring, and/or portside sampling) to Atlantic herring vessels in IFM years 2020 and 2021 (April 1, 2020–March 31, 2022), please submit an application to be an approved provider. We will approve providers for a 2-year period. In order to be considered for approval concurrent with the implementation of the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment, interested companies must submit an application to NOAA Fisheries by March 12, 2020. Applications must include a cover letter, as well as the information and statements identified in the regulations at 50 CFR 648.11(h). In your application, please be sure to specify which type(s) of monitoring services (i.e., observing, at-sea monitoring, and/or portside sampling) you would like to provide.
We will review all applications in accordance with the requirements listed in the regulations. Please review the regulations carefully, particularly the requirements for signed statements. To help fulfill the requirement to submit evidence of adequate insurance, we are providing a Verification of Insurance Coverage form (PDF, 1 page) to include in your application package. For service providers that currently provide observing or monitoring services in other fisheries, please note that our review of your application will include an evaluation of your performance in comparison to the published standards to determine whether to approve your company as an IFM service provider for IFM years 2020 and 2021.
We approved all measures contained in the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment. However, because the approval and operation of IFM service providers for the Atlantic herring fishery is conditional on implementation of the New England IFM Omnibus Amendment, final approvals regarding IFM service provider applications will not be made until the amendment’s omnibus measures are effective on March 9, 2020. We will notify service providers of our preliminary intentions to approve applications as soon as we have completed our reviews. Final approvals of any provider applications we receive under this announcement will subsequently be communicated to service providers and published in the Federal Register once the regulations are effective.
Please submit the requested documents by March 12, 2020, to:
Maria Vasta
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Office
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930
