Mandatory E-Reporting Coming to Hawaii and Alaska Longline Pelagic Fishery
Compulsory electronic logging of certain types of fish catches by commercial fishing operations could be coming to two U.S. states in the coming months.
In June, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed mandatory use of electronic reporting (ER) and electronic logbooks for pelagic longline, bigeye tuna catches from class C and D vessels in Hawaii and American Samoa.
The rule could be finalized by the end of the year, according to officials with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.
As the program starts, NMFS has committed to paying all e-logbook costs for individual fishers. Recording would be within an android-based tablet, provided by NMFS. There are 146 vessels in the Hawaii longline fishery and 16 vessels in the American Samoa fleet, according ...