Vessel Trip Reporting in the Greater Atlantic Region

Vessel Trip Reports capture important information about commercial, for-hire, and recreational fishing trips.

New England/Mid-Atlantic

Operators of most GARFO-permitted commercial, for-hire, and private recreational tilefish vessels must submit a vessel trip report (VTR) for each fishing trip.

VTRs are important because they provide data that informs fishery science and management decisions.

See the Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR);Instructions to learn how to complete an electronic VTR (eVTR) for your fishing gear.

Vessels that only possess an American Lobster and no other GARFO-issued permit are exempt from VTR reporting requirements. See Vessel Trip Reporting Requirement by Permit Type table below for trip report details for each permit.

For general questions about vessel trip reporting, call (978) 281-9246 or email us.

Vessel Trip Reporting Requirement by Permit

Refer to the permits list below to see if you have vessel trip reporting requirements for any permits you possess. If you have any of the permits below you must submit trip reports for all trips taken, regardless of targeted species or waters fished. Most of the permits have eVTR requirements.

Permit	eVTR Required?
ATLANTIC MACKEREL	Yes
BLACK SEA BASS	Yes
BLUEFISH	Yes
HERRING	Yes
MAINE MAHOGANY QUAHOG	Yes
MONKFISH	Yes
NAFO REGULATORY AREA AUTHORIZATION	Yes
NE MULTISPECIES	Yes
OCEAN QUAHOG	Yes
RED CRAB	Yes
SCALLOP	Yes
SCUP	Yes
SKATE	Yes
SPINY DOGFISH	Yes
SQUID/MACKEREL/BUTTERFISH	Yes
SUMMER FLOUNDER	Yes
SURF CLAM	Yes
TILEFISH	Yes
PRIVATE RECREATIONAL TILEFISH	Yes
If you have one of the following permits and no others, you have no vessel trip reporting requirements
INCIDENTAL HMS SQUID TRAWL	No
AMERICAN LOBSTER	No

How To Report Electronically

If you are the operator of a federally permitted commercial or for-hire vessel or the operator of a federally-permitted private recreational tilefish vessel, you are required to submit an electronic Vessel Trip Report (eVTR). Vessels that only possess an American Lobster and no other GARFO-issued permit are exempt from VTR reporting requirements. Electronic reporting makes the collection of data more efficient, convenient, and timely for the fishing industry, fishery managers, and other data users.

To view all of the eVTR software application options available to you, please click the eVTR Software Options link.
To view eVTR software development information, please use the eVTR Software Development Reference Information link.
For more answers about electronic reporting, please visit Frequent Questions: eVTR.
To view the instructions for using the Fish Online eVTR Web App and the Fish Online eVTR App for iOS, please use the following links:

Commercial eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR App for iOS

Commercial eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR Web App

Commercial eVTR for IFQ Clams Using Fish Online eVTR Web App

For-hire eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR App for iOS

For-hire eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR Web App

Private Recreational eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR App for iOS

Private Recreational eVTR Using Fish Online eVTR Web App