National Electronic Monitoring Workshop - East Coast

About

Fisheries in the U.S. and around the world are increasingly utilizing electronic monitoring (EM) to improve the timeliness, quality, cost effectiveness, and accessibility of fisheries-dependent data collection by incorporating cameras, gear sensors, and electronic reporting (ER) into commercial fishing operations. Realizing the growing interests, NOAA fisheries sponsored two national EM workshops in 2014 and 2016 to raise awareness of EM programs and emerging technologies, provide a platform for collaboration, and provide guidance on developing EM policy and best-practices.

NOAA Fisheries is hosting two more National workshops to continue collaboration across different fisheries, fishermen, and stakeholders regarding the opportunities and challenges associated with EM. Workshops are being offered on each coast to encourage greater participation; the first will be located on the East Coast with the help of New England Fishery Management Council and details are provided below. The details for the second workshop can be found at the West Coast Event Page.

The objectives for this workshop include the following:

Education: Provide participants with a shared frame of reference for the development and implementation of EM in U.S. federal fisheries.
Regional exchange: Review regional approaches to EM and share experience across regions, roles, and responsibilities.
Best practices: Share perspectives on best practices and lessons learned that can help guide the design and implementation of existing and future EM programs.
Looking ahead: Identify the ongoing questions and challenges with EM implementation, and generate ideas and next steps for gaining traction at the regional and national level.

Please note that the East Coast workshop is currently at capacity and registration is closed.

Remote Participation

Please see the webinar and call-in information below. We will also be video recording the entire workshop and making that available shortly after.

Webinar Access (presentation slides & audio only)

Day 1 - Wednesday November 13th 9am-5pm ET:

Meeting link: https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=m1d1db9b816115aab2ca458c8c148ed20

Meeting number: 900 987 662

Password: noaa

Day 2 - Thursday November 14th 9am-5pm ET:

Meeting link:
https://noaanmfs-meets.webex.com/noaanmfs-meets/j.php?MTID=m6e0d23cf412950cff76bffb08c710471

Meeting number:
909 367 295

Password: noaa

Call-In Access for November 13th & 14th:

Dial in: 1-415-527-5035

Access code: 909 367 295

Venue and Accommodations

The East Coast Workshop will be held at the Wentworth by the Sea in New Castle, New Hampshire. A limited number of rooms will be available at a discounted rate ($115 per night excluding taxes) from Nov. 12 - 14, 2019. Further details about this room block will be sent to confirmed attendees.

EM Vendors

In addition to attending, there are opportunities to participate further as part of an EM vendor panel discussion and/or a vendor demo during the workshop, highlighted by an evening event on Day 1 for attendees to learn more about the available tools.

Questions

For questions, contact K.C. Wilson at katherine.wilson@noaa.gov, (301)-427-8131 or Brett Alger at brett.alger@noaa.gov, (301)-427-8217.

Schedule

Day 1 Day 2

AGENDA

November 13, 2019

Meeting room: Wentworth Ballroom

8:00 – 9:00 am

Registration (coffee and breakfast provided)

9:00 – 9:20 am

Welcome and introductions

Brett Alger, NOAA Fisheries Electronic Technologies Coordinator
John Quinn, Chairman, New England Fishery Management Council
Sam Rauch, NOAA Fisheries Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs
Facilitators

9:20 – 10:00 am

National EM Policy: Where have we been, and where are we now?

Objective: Reflect on the history of EM policy development, including outcomes from the 2014 and 2016 National EM Workshops; review EM basics, and provide an overview of current national EM policy.

George Lapointe, George Lapointe Consulting
Brett Alger
Q&A/Discussion

10:00 – 11:15 am

Regional EM experiences

Objective: Share regional experiences with EM program development and implementation, reflect on the role of national EM policy, and identify successes, challenges, and lessons learned.

Atlantic HMS – Ian Miller, NOAA Fisheries, Highly Migratory Species Division
Canadian fisheries – Amy Williams, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada
West Coast – Neil Riley, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center

11:15 – 11:30 am

Break

11:30 – 12:15 pm

Regional EM experiences, New England

Claire Fitz-Gerald, NOAA Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Office
Melissa Sanderson, Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance
Ben Martens, Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association
Jim Ford, Commercial Fisherman, F/V Lisa Ann III; Maximized Retention EM Program Participant

12:15 – 1:30 pm

Lunch (provided)

1:30 – 2:45 pm

Vendor panel and discussion

Objective: Gain additional insight into EM successes and challenges from the perspective of third-party EM service providers.

Phillip Meintzer Archipelago Marine Research Ltd.
Josh Wiersma, Integrated Monitoring
Greg Hammann, Marine Instruments
Morgan Wealti Saltwater Inc.
Jillian DiMaio, Teem Fish Monitoring Inc
Q&A and group discussion

Discussion:

How does collaboration between vendors, managers, and stakeholders support the successful development and implementation of EM?
From your perspective (as a stakeholder, manager, etc.), what you need from EM service providers? What do you think is important for vendors to understand?

2:45 – 3:15 pm

Break

3:15 – 4:00 pm

Integrating fishery-dependent data into stock assessments in the Northeast

Objective: Discuss considerations involved in integrating fishery-dependent data, including EM data, into groundfish stock assessments in the Northeast region.

Tara Trinko Lake, NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Vito Giacalone, Northeast Seafood Coalition
Chris McGuire, The Nature Conservancy

4:00 – 4:45 pm

Exploring EM: Accountability and electronic technologies

Objective: Share stakeholder perspectives on drivers for considering EM in the Gulf of Mexico, and reflect on regional lessons learned from exploring the potential of EM as a monitoring tool.

Lisa Schmidt, Gulf of Mexico Reef Shareholders’ Alliance
Scott Hickman, Charter Fishermen’s Association
Gary Jarvis, Charter Fishermen’s Association

4:45 – 5:00 pm

Wrap-up

5:00 – 7:00 pm

EM vendor expo and networking

Location: Wentworth Ballroom Foyer

EM vendors will be available with their EM equipment or services for demonstrations and questions. Attendees are invited to interact with EM vendors and meet with workshop participants.

AGENDA

November 14, 2019

8:00 – 9:00 am

Registration (coffee and breakfast provided)

9:00 – 9:15 am

Welcome back and Day 1 recap

Jon Hare, Director, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Workshop facilitators

9:15 – 10:00 am

Introduction to monitoring costs

Objective: Provide a high-level introduction to the costs of fishery monitoring, including both observers and EM.

Introduction – Brett Alger
Chad Demarest, NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
Q&A/Discussion

10:00 – 10:30 am

Break

10:30 – 12:00 pm

EM program costs: Regional experiences

Objective: Provide regional perspectives on the factors, decisions, and tradeoffs that influence EM program costs from development through implementation.

Courtney Paiva, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
Carole Neidig, Mote Marine Laboratory
Geoff Smith, The Nature Conservancy
Q&A/Discussion

12:00 – 1:15 pm

Lunch (provided)

1:15 – 2:30 pm

EM program design: Video review and data processing

Objective: Discuss video review and data processing as drivers of EM program costs and explore regional protocols for managing costs and achieving EM program objectives.

Dan Linden, NOAA Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Office
Dan Roberts, Mote Marine Laboratory
Courtney Paiva, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission
Eric Pennaz, Google
Q&A/Discussion

2:30 – 3:00 pm

Break

3:00 – 4:15 pm

Breakout discussions: EM program design best practices and next steps

Objective: Share perspectives on the lessons learned and best practices that are most valuable to the successful design and implementation existing and future EM programs.

Discussion: Reflecting on the past two days of this workshop

What haven’t we discussed? Are there additional considerations and program design elements that are critical to EM success?
What’s working well? What do you consider “best practices” for EM program design and implementation that are valuable to document and share?
What have you learned about gaining traction on some of the most challenging aspects of EM?

4:15 – 4:45 pm

Where do we go from here?

Objective: Share highlights from breakout group discussions, including takeaways and potential next steps.

Discussion:

What are your personal takeaways from this workshop? What have you learned, and how can you apply this knowledge to your own work?
From your perspective, what aspects of EM implementation are beneficial to continue discussing at a national level?

4:45 – 5:00 pm

Closing remarks

Last updated by Office of Science and Technology on 02/07/2020