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Seafood Dealer Reporting in the Greater Atlantic Region

Federally permitted seafood dealers must submit weekly trip-level reports.

New England/Mid-Atlantic

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You or your company must have a GARFO seafood dealer permit in order to perform any of the following tasks: 

  • Purchase any federally-managed species from the owner or operator of a vessel with a GARFO permit 
  • Receive any federally-managed species from the owner or operator of a vessel with a GARFO permit 
  • Handle any federally-managed species for a commercial purpose other than solely for transport on land

In addition, GARFO requires the permitted seafood dealer to submit weekly trip-level reports for most species purchased, using one of our approved electronic means.

This document does not contain all the regulatory provisions that pertain to dealers and consequently has no legal force or effect. A copy of the complete reporting regulations can found in 50 C.F.R § 648.7 Recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

Basics of Dealer Reporting

Do I Need a Dealer Permit?

To find out if you need a dealer permit, refer to this web page: Vessel and Dealer Permitting in the Greater Atlantic Region 

Who Needs to Submit Reports?

All seafood dealers issued a GARFO federal permit must submit trip-level reports on a weekly basis using an approved electronic system.

Reporting Methods

You can submit reports electronically by any of the following methods:

Reporting Timeline

Dealers must submit all reports for a reporting week (Sunday to Saturday) by midnight of the following Tuesday. A dealer may edit a report up to 90 business days following the submission deadline of the initial report; the report is locked after 90 days and any further editing would require GARFO to unlock that report.

Requirements 

The following information is required to be reported for each purchase or receipt of fish or shellfish from a vessel (exceptions discussed below) regardless of where or how it was harvested (inshore or federal waters), or who harvested it (federally permitted or state-only permitted).

For each trip the dealer must report the following information:

  • Your dealer name and permit number.
  • The vessel name and permit number or hull number (state registration or USCG documentation number) of the vessel from which fish are purchased or received.
  • The date of purchase or receipt.
  • The electronic Vessel Trip Report (eVTR) serial number, also called the Trip ID, as supplied to the dealer by the vessel. When the vessel operator completes an eVTR after a fishing trip, GARFO generates a unique 14-digit Trip ID for that trip.  The seafood dealer must reference any relevant eVTR Trip IDs from the eVTR when submitting a Dealer Report.
  • Vessels are not required to provide the eVTR Trip ID if they hold only state permits or if they are federally permitted only under other parts of this regulation, such as Atlantic Tunas.
  • The amount of each species by market category and unit of measure being reported (e.g., pounds, bushels, etc.).
  • Inshore Exempted Species, Atlantic Bluefin tuna, and non-GARFO managed species landing outside of our region are not required to be reported. See below for more information.
  • The disposition, or how the fish will be used (e.g., human food, bait, pet food or reduction).
  • The price per unit of each species or total value by species per unit by market category.
  • Note that price and disposition may be submitted up to 16 days after purchase or receipt.
  • The port and state where the fish were landed.
  • The cage tag numbers for surf clams and ocean quahogs harvested under our ITQ allocation.

NOTE: Additional data must be reported for highly migratory species (for example, HMS catch area, sale price, whether shark fins are naturally attached).

Submitting Positive Reports

If you have made seafood purchases or received landings during a reporting week, you submit a Dealer report, also called a positive report.  These reports include above information about species caught, date of sale, and landed pounds. 

Submitting Negative Reports

If you make no purchases or no landings are received by you during a reporting week (Sunday to Saturday), a negative report must be submitted by midnight of the following Tuesday. Negative reports may be submitted up to 3 months in advance if you believe that you will not be making any purchases or receiving fish or shellfish during that time period (e.g., seasonal closures). A late positive report will overwrite the negative report for that purchase date.

For more information about negative reports, see Seafood Dealer Reporting – Submitting Negative Reports.  

Submitting Surf Clam / Ocean Quahog Reports

ITQ clam dealers and processors must report using a web form specific to that fishery. This program does not currently request or accept an eVTR serial number.

Annual Processed Products Report 

All federally permitted processors (including surf clam and ocean quahog processors) are required to complete and submit all sections of the Annual Processed Products Report. 

If you hold a Greater Atlantic Regional dealer permit and are a processor, you must complete and return the Annual Processed Products Report for all of the species that you processed each year. Your regional dealer permit for the following year will not be renewed unless you submit this form with all sections completed.

Other Information

Corrections

Complex corrections can be addressed by contacting our Dealer Data Corrections line at (978) 675-2160.

Compliance

Our staff will work with dealers to resolve technical and reporting issues. However, it is a dealer's responsibility to report completely, accurately and on time. Dealers who do not submit complete and accurate electronic reports within the required time frame will be considered out of compliance and may be referred to our Office of Law Enforcement.

Exceptions

State or inshore species

The Inshore Exempted Species listed below, as defined in CFR 648.2, are not required to be reported to GARFO. However, state agencies may have reporting requirements for these species.

  • Bay scallop (Aequipecten irradians)
  • Blood arc clam (Anadara ovalis)
  • Blood worm (Glycera dibranchiata)
  • Blue crab (Callinectes similis and Callinectes sapidus)
  • Blue mussel (Mytilus edulis)
  • Green crab (Carcinus maenas)
  • Hermit crab (Clibanarius vittatus, Pagurus pollicaris and Pagurus longicarpus)
  • Japanese shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus)
  • Oyster (Crassostrea virginica and Ostrea edulis)
  • Quahog (Mercenaria mercenaria)
  • Razor clam (Ensis directus)
  • Sand worm (Neresis virens)
  • Soft clam (Mya arenaria)
  • Spider crab (Libinia emarginata)

Out of Region Purchases

Dealers purchasing or receiving fish from a vessel landing outside of our region (Maine to North Carolina) are required to report only our region's federally managed species.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Dealers issued a permit for Atlantic Bluefin tuna under part 635 of this chapter are not required to report their purchases or receipts of Atlantic Bluefin tuna under this part. Other reporting requirements, as specified in § 635.5 of this chapter, apply to the receipt of Atlantic Bluefin tuna.

More Online Information

The following web pages contain more information for seafood dealers.

Questions?

  • SAFIS Dealer Reporting Help Desk (978) 281-9212 or nmfs.gar.reporting@noaa.gov 
  • Domestic Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Reporting (978) 281-9140 
  • HMS Electronic Reporting Help Desk (301) 427-8590  
  • SAFIS Webpage 
  • Southeast Regional Office (SERO) Dealer Reporting Requirements for Seafood Dealers
  • For data corrections, call (978) 675-2160

 

Last updated by Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office on 01/24/2025

Dealer Reporting