NOAA Fisheries: eVTR Reminders for Submitting a Trip Using Pot Gear Type

The following was released by NOAA Fisheries on August 31, 2022:

We are making improvements to our Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting (eVTR) online system to more accurately capture data coming from pot gear fisheries, which may result in you receiving an error message when submitting reports.

Please be sure you are following the correct eVTR reporting guidelines when submitting a trip in which pot Gear Types are used. We require the Gear Quantity, Gear Size and Number of Hauls fields for pot Gear Types be reported as follows:

• Gear Quantity = Average number of pots per string

• Gear Size = Total number of pots in the water

• Number of Hauls = Total number of strings hauled per trip

Questions?

For more information, instructions, and instructional videos about eVTR reporting, please visit our website.

For further assistance, please call the Vessel Reporting Help Desk at 978-281-9188 or contact your local Port Agent.

Reminder: Sea Turtle Bycatch Measures in Atlantic Trawl Fisheries - Information Needed by May 31

Details…

ACFHP Launches General Request for Habitat Conservation Proposals

The following was released by the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership:

In order to respond promptly to funding opportunities from various sources, the Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP or Partnership) is soliciting applications for habitat conservation projects in need of funding that align with ACFHP’s objectives and priority habitats. The Request for Proposals (RFP) is not linked to a specific funding source. Instead, newly submitted projects reviewed and approved by ACFHP will be added to our project database and recommended as funding becomes available.

The amount of funding currently and soon to be available for habitat restoration projects is unlike anything we have seen in a generation. With the applications submitted through the RFP, ACFHP is preparing to nimbly respond to new funding opportunities with previously approved projects. There is no deadline for the RFP. The sooner we receive applications, the faster ACFHP can review and consider your project for new funding opportunities. While submitting an application does not guarantee funding, it will increase the visibility of your project among ACFHP partners and other funders.

The RFP can be found on the ACFHP website: Funding Opportunities – Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (atlanticfishhabitat.org)

For questions and to submit your completed application, please email Lisa Havel, ACFHP Director, at LHavel@asmfc.org.

Paperwork Reduction Act Request for Comments: Sea turtles in Virginia pound nets data collection

NMFS published a notice in the Federal Register on June 10, 2021 (86 FR 30918) requesting comments on a renewal for collection of information requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act. This collection of information involves the requirement for Virginia pound net fishermen to report interactions with endangered and threatened sea turtles, found both live and dead, in their pound net operations to NMFS and if necessary, the appropriate rehabilitation and stranding network. The comment period closes August 9, 2021. For additional information please contact Carrie Upite at (978) 282-8475 or email at Carrie.Upite@noaa.gov.

Click here to read the full notice in the federal register.

NOAA Fisheries Reminder: Update your Fish Online Account by June 1

The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of our conversion to online permitting and eVTR, we are changing the way that vessel owners and operators login to Fish Online starting June 1.

To access Fish Online, instead of entering your permit number and PIN combination, you must now login using your personal Fish Online user account. We made this change to increase your account security and to enable vessel owners to give access, or “entitlements,” to their vessel records to other trusted people while managing multiple vessels in one account. We began implementing this process in 2020 and continue to reach out to vessel owners and operators to provide information and offer technical assistance.

Vessel Owners

Earlier this year, in anticipation of our annual vessel permit renewal season, we mailed instructions to vessel owners on how to update their accounts. Owners must use their user accounts to:

• Use services such as permit renewals and electronic reporting.

• Review landings data submitted by operators and dealers.

• Provide account access to other trusted people.

• Manage multiple vessels in one account.

If you are a vessel owner and have not yet created your login credentials, we strongly encourage you to do so by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either a Credential Security Code (CSC) or by calling our Help Desk.

Vessel Operators

Vessel operators also need a Fish Online account to use any of  GARFO’s eVTR applications and to view their previously submitted eVTRs. Starting last month, we began sending notices to vessel operators and will continue this process throughout the summer. Once vessel operators receive a letter in the mail, if they have not already, they should create their user accounts as soon as possible by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either the Credential Security Code (CSC) in the letter we mailed to you or by calling our Help Desk.

Questions?

For assistance with obtaining your CSC code, entitling vessels, or creating your Fish Online user account:

• Call our Vessel Reporting Help Desk at 978 -281-9188 from the phone number listed on your vessel permit. This is needed to verify your identity.

• Contact your local Port Agent.

ASMFC Seeks Proposals to Conduct Components of the At-Sea Monitoring Training Program

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), is issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) to conduct components of the At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) Training Program for the NEFSC.

NMFS is required to collect biological and compliance data aboard U.S. domestic fishing vessels, data which cannot be obtained at the dock or on research vessels. Specifically, NMFS observer data is essential to reliably estimating catch and bycatch, and in helping to implement programs to reduce bycatch. A sharp increase to the coverage rate (up to 100%) for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery in Fishing Year 2022 and observer attrition during the 2020 fishing year have resulted in the need for approximately 140 new at-sea monitors.

The Awardee shall provide and retain the necessary qualified personnel, materials, equipment, services, and facilities to conduct components of the ASM training for NEFSC. The Awardee shall conduct approximately 4-6 trainings per year. The training will be conducted as a collaborative effort between NMFS and the Awardee; where some components of the training will be conducted by the Awardee and some training components will be conducted by NMFS.

Applicants seeking to apply to the RFP must submit, as a single file, an electronic proposal by email no later than 5:00 p.m. EST on May 19, 2021. Please see the RFP for complete proposal details, qualifying requirements, and submission instructions. The RFP is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/RFPs/AtSeaMonitorTrainingRFP_April2021.pdf.

For more information, please contact Deke Tompkins at dtompkins@asmfc.org or 313.303.2623.