New South Atlantic For-Hire Reporting Requirements – Information for Greater Atlantic Permit Holders

Beginning on January 4, 2021, all fishermen with Atlantic federal charter/head­boat permits for Snapper-Grouper, Coastal Migratory Pelagics, and Dolphin/Wahoo issued by NOAA’s Southeast Regional Office (SERO) will be required to electronically report their fishing effort and landings through the NOAA Fisheries Southeast For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program.

How Will This Affect For-Hire Operators in the Greater Atlantic Region?

Individuals holding only for-hire permits issued by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) will not be impacted by these changes. You can continue submitting your electronic VTRs as you are right now.

Individuals holding both a GARFO for-hire permit and a Southeast Region Office (SERO) charter/headboat permit for any of the species listed above will be subject to new reporting requirements.

Information for Dual GARFO and SERO For-Hire Permit Holders

In early December, SERO will be sending you an informational toolkit that explains the Southeast For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program. The toolkit is also available here.

New Reporting Requirements

As a result of holding the SERO permit, you will need to report the new information listed below, in addition to the GARFO information you are accustomed to reporting. 

  • Socio-economic questions:

    • Trip Fee (dollars);

    • Fuel Used (gallons);

    • Price of Fuel (dollars per gallon).

  • Requirement to submit did-not-fish reports in weeks in which no fishing activity occurs in any fishery.

How to Report

  • As a holder of a SERO permit, you will be required to meet these reporting requirements regardless of where you fish or what species you target.

  • If you have been reporting using eTrips/Mobile 2, simply continue to report with this software as you have been, as the new fields will automatically appear in January and  this system meets both regions’ requirements.

  • If you have been reporting using the Fish Online eVTR application, we strongly encourage you to convert to eTrips/Mobile 2 to satisfy the reporting requirements of both GARFO and SERO. At present, Fish Online does not meet SERO reporting requirements.

When to Report:

Reports must still be submitted within 48 hours of landing to meet GARFO requirements.

For Assistance with Reporting Requirements Contact

  • Your local GARFO Port Agent

  • GARFO reporting group at 978-281-9246

  • If you are a Fish Online user and want to switch to using eTrips, call 1-800-984-0810 or visit https://www.accsp.org/what-we-do/safis/etrips-mobile-instructions/

Additional Information

Journal Article: There Is no I in EAFM Adapting Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management

A new article available in the Coastal Management journal highlights the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s use of Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) as part of its Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM). This article is part of a special issue of Coastal Management that focuses on 10 years of implementation of the NOAA IEA program and is expected to publish in early 2021. For additional information, please contact Brandon Muffley, Council Staff, at bmuffley@mafmc.org.

There Is no I in EAFM Adapting Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management

Authors: Brandon Muffley, Sarah Gaichas, Geret DePiper, Richard Seagraves, Sean Lucey

Read the full article at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08920753.2021.1846156 (note: this article is open access for anyone to view or download).

Abstract

Resource managers worldwide are being asked to consider the ecosystem while making management decisions. Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (IEA) provides a flexible framework for addressing ecosystem considerations in decision making. The US Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) adapted the IEA approach and implemented a structured decision framework to address species, fleet, habitat, and climate interactions as part of their Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management (EAFM) in 2016. The Council’s EAFM decision framework first uses risk assessment to prioritize fishery-ecosystem interactions for consideration. The Council’s 2017 EAFM risk assessment identified a range of ecological, social, and management objectives or risk elements. Development of a conceptual model to identify key environmental, ecological, social, economic, and management linkages for a high-priority fishery is the second step in the framework. The Council identified summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) as a high-risk fishery and finalized an EAFM conceptual model that considers high-risk factors and ecosystem elements in 2019. The Council used the conceptual model to identify three priority summer flounder management questions (recreational data uncertainty, recreational discards, and distribution shifts) to be considered for quantitative management strategy evaluation, the third step in the EAFM framework and set to begin in 2020. Finally, as strategies are implemented, outcomes are monitored and the process is adjusted, and/or other priorities identified in the risk assessment can be addressed. The Council’s rapid progress in implementing EAFM resulted from an extensive, positive, and collaborative process between managers, stakeholders, and scientists. Collaboration helps build trust and buy-in from all participants and is essential to IEA and to the success of EAFM.