A series of questions and answers that will help make the transition to electronic Vessel Trip Reporting easier in the Greater Atlantic Region.
If you have any questions concerning electronic vessel trip reporting (eVTR) you may contact your local port agent or our vessel reporting help desk at nmfs.gar.reporting@noaa.gov or (978) 281-9188.
GARFO is working with it’s partners at SEFSC, HMS, and the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) to develop One Stop Reporting (OSR) capabilities that will enable the submission of a single electronic report to satisfy duplicative reporting requirements of vessels holding permits in multiple Regions.
You should contact the vendor of your VMS system to inquire about this.
Only hail weights are needed for eVTR’s. We receive the size or market categories from the dealer(s) you sell your catch to and those are matched to your trip.
For more information see the Electronic Vessel Trip Report (eVTR) Reporting Instructions.
Yes. You will need Wi-Fi internet access to download the app and submit reports. Also, if you are offline while on a trip you should not log out of Fish Online.
No. You need to contact the ACCSP 24/7 customer line at (800) 984-0810, or the mobile_support@accsp.org email address. ACCSP staff will be able to set you up.
The permit is issued to a vessel and reporting is required by vessel.
Local time, which in most cases this will be Eastern Time. Your device will likely set to this. The trip start is the local time a vessel leaves the dock to begin its trip. The trip end is the local time a vessel ends its trip by returning to dock.
Much of the decision is personal preference. If you have GARFO permits only and are not currently reporting electronically, any of the following approved systems will work. For a complete list of software options please go to the Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting Software Options webpage.
If you are already enrolled in the FLDRS program with the Northeast Fishery Science Center, you should continue to use that system to submit your reports.
If you have permits from both GARFO and the Southeast Regional Office (for example, Snapper/Grouper or Dolphin/Wahoo permits) or an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Division permit for Atlantic Tunas and HMS Charter/Headboat and Angling, ACCSP eTrips/mobile is currently the only application that allows you to submit reports to both regions with a single push of a button, and is therefore the recommended system.
Multiple applications offer flexibility and options for the commercial operators. Regardless of the application that you choose, when you submit the report, the exact same information is transmitted to GARFO. GARFO has implemented a rigorous approval process to ensure than each approved system submits the data in the exact same way.
Not necessarily. There are many approved reporting applications available. Many are free while some developers may charge. See our Software Options web page for a full listing.
Yes, you can submit more than one eVTR in a day. However, trip departure and return times cannot overlap, that is, you cannot be fishing on two trips during the same time period.
No. IVR reports can only be made using one of the Fish Online apps or the website. You can use eTrips or other apps for eVTR reporting and Fish Online for IVR.
Loran coordinates are not accepted. Reporting systems use Latitude/Longitude.
Yes, you may break up the offload by port and date for the same trip; each offload allows you to select the day offloaded.
The apps are designed to work offline, so the information will be saved on your device as an open trip.
All RSA allocation is project-specific. The project lead (PL) is provided instructions and is responsible for ensuring proper reporting as a condition of the research permit. Vessel captains conducting RSA trips should get instructions from the PL on how to report.
Limited access scallop vessels on a open area DAS trip seeking safe harbor where they do not land or offload, but lay to behind the demarcation line should continue to use the original VTR upon continuance of the trip.
Yes, you must report via eVTR any trip or effort where you are targeting Surfclam / Ocean Quahog. For more information, see the Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) Instructions.
Yes. A vessel owner can entitle multiple Fish Online accounts to a vessel. However, vessel operators do not need this entitlement to submit an eVTR.
Yes. If you need assistance please contact the Vessel Reporting Help Desk at (978) 281-9188.
Yes. The account is also used to renew vessel and operator permits as well as obtain information about your vessel and reported fishing activity.
Each captain needs to set-up their own Fish Online account to enable them to submit eVTRs through Fish Online. However, they do not need to be entitled to that vessel. They will not be able to access any other data about the vessel, or anyone else’s eVTRs, unless they are granted entitlement privileges by a vessel owner.
For assistance, you can call the appropriate helpline for the software you have.
There is no limit.
Your vessel(s) will need to be linked to your personal account. Call our Help Desk at (978) 281-9188 for assistance with this.
Each eVTR application provides the ability for emailing reports that are submitted. Captains can email reports directly to the company’s office staff at the time that they submit their report to GARFO.
Each application is required to have a feature for storing and retrieving reports that are submitted to GARFO, with each report being electronically stamped with the date and time of submission. If a question is raised about VTR information held by GARFO, the operator can refer back to their trip report that is on their personal device. If an operator prefers to retain paper copies, reports can be emailed and printed for filing in alternative locations. Again, all reports will be stamped with the data and time of submission.
The best option is for all vessel operators to set up their own accounts with GARFO and to use their own log-ins and their own devices. An alternative, non-preferred, option is to provide an operator (alternate captain) your device and log-in information for them to use while operating your vessel.
Once submitted, you can edit an eVTR almost immediately through our Fish Online system. There is no expiration of your editing ability. We do track when and who changes any data.
No. You may have a sail date and time end and start on the same day as long as the time sailed of the second trip is after the time landed for the previous trip.
Please be sure you are following the correct eVTR reporting guidelines when submitting a trip in which pot Gear Types (i.e. lobster pots, crab pots, whelk pots, etc.) are used. We require the Gear Quantity, Gear Size and Number of Hauls fields for pot Gear Types be reported as follows:
Yes, as a requirement of offloading your catch to a federally permitted dealer you must also provide that dealer with your vessel name, your federal permit number or your hull number, and the serial number (Trip ID) from the VTR for the trip you are selling.
No. A federally permitted vessel must sell federally managed species to a federally permitted dealer. Any dealer of federally managed species must have a federal dealer permit. You must record each dealer’s four digit federal permit number next to the dealer name on the Vessel Trip Report.
Yes.
No, this can only be done online through FOL. Although you can delete an open trip that has not been submitted through the app.
Yes, enter 99998 Home Consumption for the dealer code. For a complete listing of non-dealer codes see the Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) Instructions.
Wi-Fi or cellular data connection is not needed to enter data and is only needed when submitting your report within 48 hours after returning to port. All approved applications must do the following:
All applications allow you to split your catches to record various dispositions or sale to multiple dealers. ACCSP eTrips/mobile has a choice under Dispositions for Retained for Personal Use. Other applications may allow you to split your catch to sell to different dealers, and enter 99998 in the Dealer Code field to indicate personal use. Call the Help Line for the appropriate application if you need step-by-step guidance.
At the time of sale, vessel operators must provide the VTR number to the dealer, just as they currently do with paper reporting. GARFO will match the dealer and operator reports just as they do now and any major discrepancies will be referred to the Law Enforcement or Permits section of GARFO. Catch weights on VTRs will be estimates and dealer weights will be actual weights, just as they are now with the paper VTRs.
The serial number from the first VTR in the series used on a trip should be provided. A trip that has multiple chart areas and multiple gears would still only have one VTR number, as they would just create a new effort for each change in area or gear.
No.
Fishermen are only required to provide the eVTR trip number which replaces the traditional paper VTR number. The eVTR Trip number has 14 characters and is formatted based on vessel permit number, year, month, date, and hour in which the trip report was created. For a representation of the 14-character format, refer to the graphic below.
Fishermen should provide their dealer with the eVTR trip number that was automatically generated within their eVTR app when they are creating the trip report.
Yes, there is an option to download the trip as a PDF so you can save it to your device and email the file.
You are submitting hail weights (estimate of catch) and not dealer weights on eVTRs. You do not need to wait for the exact information from your dealer(s). The exact weights will be submitted by the dealer(s) you sell your catch to and matched to your trip.
You can submit a No Effort trip. For more information, see the Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) Instructions.
Vessel Trip Reporting in the Greater Atlantic Region
Recordings of Instructional Webinars for Fish Online Reporting Apps (July - November 2021)
The Fishadelphia team. Credit: Dr. Talia Young.
Four North Atllantic right whales.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologist collecting data during buoyless lobster trap tests.
Atlantic sea scallops