Crab being offloaded in Dutch Harbor
The Council established four Economic Data Reporting (EDR) programs in federally managed groundfish and crab fisheries in the North Pacific. The EDRs are mandatory data collections which gather various levels of ownership, revenue, cost, vessel operations, and employment information from the harvesting and processing sectors who participate in these fisheries.
These data collections include:
- The Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Crab Rationalization Program EDR, implemented in 2005;
- Trawl Catcher/Processor (CP) EDR implemented in 2007 for Amendment 80 vessels, and in 2015 for CPs operating in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) groundfish fisheries;
- Bering Sea (BS) Chinook salmon bycatch management program EDR for participants in the BS pollock fishery, implemented in 2012; and
- GOA trawl EDRs for trawl catcher vessels operating in the GOA and processors taking deliveries from these vessels, implemented in 2015
In general, the purpose of the EDR requirements is to gather information to improve the Council’s ability to analyze the economic effects of catch share or rationalization programs, to understand the economic performance of participants in these programs, and to help estimate impacts of future issues, problems, or proposed revisions to the programs covered by the EDRs. These data collection programs substantially reduce the analytical difficulties that were encountered in the past when attempting to examine the effects of the halibut/sablefish IFQ program and the American Fisheries Act.
EDR Changes
The Council is considering modifying and/or removing EDR program requirements and has initiated two actions related to EDRs. There are currently four EDR programs. Each program was developed independently to meet a specific purpose and need. The four data collections were not created to provide consistent information across EDRs and are therefore different from one another. The Council tasked its Social Science Plan Team (SSPT) with helping it identify any changes to the purpose and need statements for the current EDR programs as well as developing a range of potential alternative ways to change these data collections to reduce burden and improve the practical utility of the information collected. For example, this may include the elimination of duplicative data elements and elements of little analytical utility and the modification of specific data elements to achieve greater consistency across EDR programs. Within its range of alternatives, the Council will also consider whether to discontinue one or all of the of the EDR programs.
SSPT Meeting
Sept 21st 9am – 1pm AKT; (10am – 2pm PT)
The Council’s Social Science Planning Team will discuss the next steps to EDR revisions. For more meeting information, see SSPT webpage.
First Stakeholder Discussion Meeting
Aug 26th 2 pm – 4 pm AKT; (3 pm – 5 pm PT)
On Aug 26th 2020, the Council held the first in a series of virtual stakeholder discussions to consider potential revisions to the Council’s EDR programs. This first EDR stakeholder discussion convened interested members of the public to provide a high-level overview of the EDR program and issues that are general to all four EDRs and facilitate a discussion of general issues regarding the Council’s EDR revision process. This meeting was also an opportunity for stakeholders to provide the SSPT with input on topics for focused stakeholder discussions, and other ideas for how to approach the EDR revision process. The meeting had two objectives:
- Discuss the Council’s existing EDR programs, including their objectives, the use of EDR information to support decision-making, and the relationship between the data elements collected, economic performance metrics, and the management questions they can inform.
- Generate ideas for improving the usability, efficiency, and consistency of existing EDR programs while minimizing their cost and burden to industry and the government.
Meeting Flyer
Meeting summary
The E-agenda includes power point presentations and public comments
Staff contact is Sarah Marrinan (sarah.marrinan@noaa.gov)
Documents and Motions Related to EDRs
Initial Review analysis on EDR changes; Motion – Feb 2020
Social Science Planning Team Report – Nov 2019
Social Science Planning Team Report – May 2019
Discussion paper on EDR changes ; Motion – April 2019
Motion for EDR discussion paper – April 2018
Additional Resources
Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) is the Data Collection Agent for the EDRs. More information can be found on the PSMFC website.
The PSMFC web page for BSAI Crab EDRs can be found here.
The PSMFC web page for the Amendment 80 EDR collection can be found here.
The PSMFC web page for Amendment 91 EDR can be found here.
Information on the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Trawl Economic Data Report Program can be found at the PSMFC web site.
Staff contact is Sarah Marrinan.
