Council Explores
Cost-Sharing Mechanism for At-Sea Monitoring
by Laurie Schreiber
Pair trawling herring offshore. The amendment says many stakeholders, as well as some members of the herring industry, feel that 100 percent observer coverage is necessary for the most active vessels to either confirm or disprove the claims that have been made by many regarding bycatch in the herring fishery. The Council agrees and proposes limiting this requirement to Category A and B vessels, which catch 97 percent of all Atlantic herring. Joel Woods photo
HYANNIS, Mass. – The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) in September was considering options for splitting the cost of at-sea observer coverage between fishermen and the federal government.
The discussion came after the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) disapproval, earlier in the year, of a provision in Amendment 5 to the NEFMC’s herring management plan. While NMFS approved the overall amendment, that particular provision would require 100 percent observer coverage on Category A and B vessels, coupled with a target maximum industry contribution of $325 per day.
In a letter to NEFMC dated July 19, NMFS chief John Bullard said at-sea costs associated with an observer in the herring fishery are higher than $325 per day. Bullard wrote, “…there is no current
