This system allows you to log your fishing trips in advance and determines which trips will need to be observed. Programming follows the guidance provided in the Annual Deployment Plan for Observers in the Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries off Alaska.
Catch share programs require a more intensive suite of monitoring tools for management and include at-sea scales to weigh catch and catch monitoring plans developed by processors to describe how fish will be sort and weighed.
NOAA Fisheries certified observers collect data on Alaska groundfish and halibut fisheries to provide scientific information to which is used to manage Alaska's fisheries and develop measures to minimize bycatch.
These frequently asked questions summarize regulations applicable to the Alaska Region's Electronic Monitoring Program. If you are required to comply with the regulations, you should consult the actual regulatory text found in the CFR or eCFR.
The 2019 Annual Deployment Plan documents how NOAA Fisheries intends to assign fishery observers and electronic monitoring to vessels fishing in the partial observer coverage category (50 CFR 679.51(a)) in the North Pacific during the calendar year 2019.
The Pacific Islands Region Observer Program is responsible for deploying observers on U.S. fishing vessels to collect data on effort and catch, as well as incidental interactions with protected species, such as sea turtles and marine mammals.
