Electronic Monitoring Instead of Human Observers Now an Option for Some Alaska Fishermen
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SeafoodNews] by Peggy Parker - August 10, 2017
Alaska’s decades-old fishery observer program now offers an electronic option for non-trawl fishermen beginning in 2018. This is a victory for many in the longline and pot fleets who have been working for years to get approval of electronic monitoring (EM) using current technologies.
The purpose of the North Pacific Observers Program is to collect data necessary for the conservation, management, and scientific understanding of the groundfish and halibut fisheries off Alaska. Their data verifies catches, including bycatch, and helps managers get an accurate count of catch and mortality.
Until 2013 the program did not include hundreds of vessels in the halibut fishery, in part due to the difficulty of finding room for an extra body on a 40-foot vessel. But in 2013, the program was updated and added the 40-foot and over fleet.
The challenge to halibut skippers was immediately clear when the Council first considered including small boats -- Where would the observer sleep...
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