Regulatory Impact Review for a Proposed Regulatory Amendment to Revise Monitoring Requirements for Pot Catcher/Processors Participating in Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fisheries

This Regulatory Impact Review analyzes proposed changes to the monitoring requirements for the pot gear catcher/processor (CP) fleet participating in Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fisheries. The measures under consideration include requiring participants to carry at least one Level 2 observer deployed at all times, requiring participants comply with pre-cruise meeting notifications, and requiring certification and testing standards for participants choosing additional voluntary monitoring options such as an observer sampling station, motion-compensating platform and flow scales, or carrying additional observers. As the preferred source of information for catch and discards in this fishery, it is crucial that observer data used by NOAA Fisheries for inseason management be as complete and accurate as possible. Due to the fishery’s small number of participants and short seasons, errors in data collection or the inability of an observer to collect data have periodically led to substantial changes in the estimates of catch and bycatch. The proposed changes are intended to reduce the likelihood of data loss by ensuring experienced observers are deployed onboard pot CP vessels, effective collaboration, and an improved work environment.