• Contact Us
  • Subscribe

North Pacific Fishery Management Council

Managing our Nation's Fisheries off the Coast of Alaska

  • Home
  • Meetings
    • Council Meetings
      • Agenda Platform – All meetings
      • Current (or next) Council Meeting
      • Future Council Meetings
      • Archive of Council Meetings
      • Three Meeting Outlook
      • Calendar
  • About
    • Overview
      • FAQ
      • Recognition Awards
      • Management Policies
      • Navigating the Process
      • Staff
      • fisherycouncils.org
      • List of Acronyms
    • Engagement topics
      • Halibut Subsistence
      • Northern Bering Sea Research Area
      • Community Quota Entity Program
  • Membership
    • Council and Committee Members
      • Council Members
      • Scientific and Statistical Committee
      • Advisory Panel
    • Committees
      • List of Committees
      • Bering Sea FEP Climate Change Taskforce
      • Bering Sea FEP LKTK Taskforce
      • Charter Halibut Management Committee
      • Community Engagement Committee
      • Cook Inlet Salmon Committee
      • Ecosystem Committee
      • Enforcement Committee
      • Fishery Monitoring Committees
      • Halibut ABM Stakeholder Committee
      • Halibut Management Committee
      • IFQ Committee
      • Joint Protocol Committee
      • Legislative Committee
      • PNCIAC
    • Fishery Management Plan Teams
      • Overview
      • Groundfish Plan Teams
      • Salmon FMP
      • Scallop Plan Team
      • BSAI Crab Plan Team
      • Social Science Planning Team
      • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan
  • Fisheries
    • Halibut
      • Halibut Subsistence
      • Charter Halibut Management
        • Charter Halibut Management Committee
        • Halibut Charter Stakeholder Committee
      • Halibut Bycatch Overview
    • Groundfish
      • Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska Groundfish
      • Groundfish Plan Teams
      • BSAI Groundfish FMP Doc
      • BSAI FMP Appendix
      • GOA Groundfish FMP Doc
      • GOA FMP Appendix
    • Crab and Scallop
      • BSAI Crab Plan Team
      • BSAI Crab FMP Doc
      • Scallop Plan Team
      • Scallop FMP Doc
    • Other FMPs
      • Salmon
      • Arctic
  • Current Issues
    • Habitat Protections
      • Overview
      • Bering Sea Canyons
      • Essential Fish Habitat (EFH)
      • Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC)
        • HAPC Proposals
      • Northern Bering Sea Research Area
      • Gear Modifications
    • Protected Species
      • Overview
      • Steller Sea Lions
      • Seals
      • Seabirds
      • Walrus
      • Whales
    • Catch Shares Allocation
      • AFA Pollock Cooperatives
      • Amendment 80 Program
      • BSAI Crab Rationalization
      • CDQ Program
      • Community Quota Entity Program
      • Cooperative Reporting
      • Economic Data Reporting
      • GOA Rockfish Program
      • Halibut/Sablefish IFQ Program
      • Pacific Cod Allocations
    • Other Conservation Issues
      • Alaska Marine Ecosystem Forum
      • Aleutian Islands Fishery Ecosystem Plan
      • Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan
      • Non Target Species Management
      • Observer Program
  • Bycatch Controls
    • Salmon Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Salmon Bycatch
      • GOA Salmon Bycatch
    • Crab Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Crab Bycatch
      • GOA Crab Bycatch
    • Halibut Bycatch
      • Overview
      • BSAI Halibut Bycatch
      • GOA Halibut Bycatch
    • GOA Trawl Bycatch
      • GOA Trawl Bycatch Management
  • Publications
    • Publications
      • Research Priorities
      • Scientific Papers
      • Summary Reports
      • NPFMC Newsletters
      • SAFE (Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation) Reports
      • ACEPO
    • Resources
      • Plan Teams
      • Related Links
      • Meeting Minutes
      • Council Mailings
      • NOAA Fisheries Policy Directives
  • Contact Us
  • Subscribe

Observer Issues

You are here: Home » Newsletters » Observer Issues

June 20, 2017

The Council reviewed the 2016 Annual Report for the North Pacific Observer Program, and made recommendations for the 2018 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP), which will be developed over the summer. The Annual Report provides a scientific evaluation of the deployment of observers in 2016, to assess whether the objectives of the Observer Program have been met. The report also includes descriptive information on the program, including enforcement trends and outreach efforts, and agency recommendations. The Council commended the agency on the Annual Report, and the ability it provides to adjust and improve the program.

For 2018, the Council supports continuing with current observer deployment by gear strata (pot, longline, and trawl), but has asked for an evaluation of whether to continue separate strata by gear type for vessels delivering their catch to tender vessels. The Council has also asked for an evaluation of equal coverage deployment designs up to a baseline level of coverage, as a comparison to the 2017 method of optimizing allocation among gear types and strata based on discards and prioritizing PSC-limited fisheries. These options will be analyzed and included in the draft 2018 ADP, for Council review in October.

Pending final Secretary of Commerce approval, the 2018 ADP will be the first year to include a fully implemented electronic monitoring (EM) program. The Council already provided a recommendation in April 2017 to expand the EM pool in 2018 if funding permits. In June, the Council noted that if funding is insufficient, the ADP should prioritize longline vessels, whose data will be used for inseason management in 2018; vessels that are already equipped with EM systems; and small vessels where carrying an observer is problematic. In October, the Council will also review a preliminary methodology for splitting the observer fee among observer and EM pools; for 2018, EM will continue to operate on transition funding from NMFS, but beginning in 2019, will be paid for from the observer fee revenue.

In the enforcement chapter, the Annual Report identifies that there has been an increase in Observer Program complaints with respect to priority issues of safety and creating a hostile work environment. The Council is concerned about this trend, and encourages industry to work with the NMFS Office of Law Enforcement and observer providers to proactively engage in education and outreach. The Council also requested two changes for future Annual Reports. Beginning with the 2017 fishing year, the Council would the report to evaluate whether there is evidence of an observer effect for pelagic trawl versus non-pelagic trawl fisheries, rather than evaluating all trawl trips in aggregation. Additionally, the Council would like the reports to track progress toward estimating variance of catch and bycatch.

The Council continues to be concerned about the levels of funding for the partial coverage observer program, and resulting low sampling rates. In addition to tasking the Observer Advisory Committee to look at options to increase sampling within existing means (see observer project tasking article), the Council will request supplemental funding from NMFS to alleviate funding shortfalls and increase observer days for 2018. The Council also appreciates the opportunity to provide input to the Statement of Work for the next partial coverage observer provider contract, which is being developed by NOAA’s Acquisition and Grants Office, during the October Council meeting.

Observer project tasking, including discussion of low sampling rates and tendering

The Council reviewed the prioritized list of analytical projects related to the Observer Program, and agreed with Observer Advisory Committee (OAC) recommended changes. , the Council approved prioritizing work on two specific projects: options to address low sampling rates in partial coverage, and a scoping of data concerns and potential solutions related to vessels delivering to tenders.

  • Low sampling rates: The Council endorsed the OAC’s recommendation to form a subgroup over the summer, to identify short- and long-term options that could address low sampling rates in partial coverage. The subgroup will meet by email and teleconference, and will consider whether there are short-term options that can be addressed through changes to the deployment design (e.g., through the Annual Deployment Plan); what, if any, options require changes to the partial coverage contract that should be brought into a draft Statement of Work for the revised contract; and longer-term solutions that may involve regulatory change.
  • Tendering: The Council asked staff to develop a scoping paper that identifies the separate data concerns related to vessels delivering to tenders (e.g., whether they are concerns of observed vessels fishing in a manner that is unrepresentative of those that are not observed, or whether delivering to a tender is affecting sampling of salmon bycatch.) The paper should then link these concerns with solutions that have been evaluated, are being implemented in 2017, or have been suggested as possible. Staff will work with industry groups to vet these and other potential solutions.

Staff contact is Diana Evans.

The Council is soliciting for a representative of the western GOA trawl fleet to become a member of the Observer Advisory Committee. The OAC’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for September 19-20, in Seattle. If you are interested, please contact Diana Evans at the Council office (907-271-2815 or diana.evans@noaa.gov) by July 28, 2017.

Tagged With: 2017, June, OAC, Observer

Upcoming Meetings

View Calendar →

Recent Updates

Halibut/Sablefish IFQ Program

Current (or next) Council Meeting

Future Council Meetings

Archive of Council Meetings

Enforcement Committee

  • October 2015 Newsletter
  • June 2015 Newsletter
  • April 2015 Newsletter
  • February 2015 Newsletter

Upcoming Meetings

Past Meetings →

Recent Updates

Fishery Economist / Fishery Analyst Vacancy Announcement

Scientific Coordination Subcommittee

April 2022 Newsletter

Meeting News

Cooperative Reports

Photo Stream

More Photos →

Newsletters

All →

Subscribe to our Agenda/Newsletter:

Contact Info

View Map →

North Pacific Fishery Management Council
1007 West Third, Suite 400
Anchorage, Alaska 99501-2252
Phone: (907) 271-2809

Return to top of page
Copyright © 2022. North Pacific Fishery Management Council. All Rights Reserved. · Website by Sundog Media LLC · Login