AKRO: Guided Angler Fish Landings

Beginning in 2014, the the halibut Catch Sharing Plan (CSP) authorizes annual transfers of commercial halibut IFQ as guided angler fish (GAF) to charter halibut permit holders for harvest in the charter halibut fishery. GAF offers charter halibut permit holders in Area 2C or Area 3A an opportunity to lease a limited amount of IFQ from commercial quota share (QS) holders to allow charter clients to harvest halibut in addition to, or instead of, the halibut harvested under the daily bag limit for charter anglers. Charter anglers using GAF are subject to the harvest limits in place for unguided sport anglers in that area.

Information about GAF landings are submitted electronically through eFish, NMFS' integrated online system, and include details on when and where the GAF were caught, the number and length of fish, as well as permit, vessel, license, and logbook details.

GAF harvested in the charter halibut fishery is accounted for as commercial halibut IFQ harvest. The GAF landings reported through eFish are used to account for that catch. GAF permit holders are required to electronically report GAF harvests by 11:59 p.m. (Alaska local time) on the last day of the fishing trip in which GAF were retained.

Access to sensitive data shall only be granted to an individual that meets certain criteria. Access can only be granted to an individual if a signed and effective Confidentiality Agreement, Data Access Sharing Agreement, Memorandum of Understanding, Standard Statement of Nondisclosure, or similar agreement is in place. These signed agreements shall indicate that individuals have reviewed and understand the provisions in the manual governing the legal use of sensitive data. The signed agreements are maintained by the Alaska Regional Records office. The name of each individual that has signed a statement of nondisclosure for using sensitive data will be added to the Alaska Region list of authorized confidential data users.

Guided Angler fish landings data are sensitive under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act (2007) and can only be shared with authorized persons or in summary format for public dissemination.

Authentication and authorization are required for Guided Angler Fish (GAF) permit holders before they can electronically report harvests through eFish, NMFS' web application. Entries are validated according to established business rules before they are loaded into NMFS Oracle tables.

The Alaska Region is still working out these details.

IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Alaska Region in Juneau, Alaska, following a disruption.

Guided Angler Fish (GAF) permit holders electronically report harvests through eFish, NMFS' web application. Entries are validated according to established business rules and loaded into NMFS Oracle tables.