Vessel movement and monitoring (Comment deadline November 12)

The rule proposes revisions to reporting and monitoring provisions for vessels participating in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. The proposed rule published in the Federal Register on October 10, 2019.  The comment period will end on November 12, 2019.

This proposed action would increase monitoring effectiveness and operational efficiency by:

• increasing the position transmission rate for certain vessels using NMFS type-approved vessel monitoring system units, including limited entry groundfish vessels, open access vessels using non-groundfish trawl gear (ridgeback prawn, California halibut, and sea cucumber trawl), and any vessels that use open access gear targeting groundfish or that have groundfish bycatch (salmon troll, prawn trap, Dungeness crab, halibut longline, California halibut line gear, and sheephead trap);

• allowing midwater trawl vessels participating in the Pacific whiting fishery to change their landing declarations while at sea;

• exempting groundfish trawl vessels from observer coverage while testing authorized fishing gear; and

• allowing shorebased Individual Fishing Quota fixed gear vessels to deploy pot gear in one management area while retrieving gear from another management area on a single trip.