National Marine Fisheries Service
11/27/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 11/27/2024 12:56
North Pacific Observer Program 2023 Annual Report
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North Pacific Observer Program 2023 Annual Report
November 27, 2024
This Annual Report provides information, analysis, and recommendations based on the deployment of observers and Electronic Monitoring (EM) systems by the North Pacific Observer Program (Observer Program) in the halibut and groundfish fisheries off Alaska during 2023.
Section 313 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (16 U.S.C. 1862) authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council), in consultation with National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to prepare a fishery research plan for the purpose of stationing observers and EM systems to collect data necessary for the conservation, management, and scientific understanding of the commercial groundfish and Pacific halibut fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) management areas. Observers and EM systems collect fishery-dependent information used to estimate total catch and interactions with protected species. Managers use these data to manage groundfish and prohibited species catch within established limits and to document and reduce fishery interactions with protected resources. Scientists use fishery-dependent data to assess fish stocks, to provide scientific information for fisheries and ecosystem research and fishing fleet behavior, to assess marine mammal interactions with fishing gear, and to assess fishing interactions with habitat.
The Observer Program is the nation's largest observer program and covers vessels in both partial coverage and full coverage. In the full coverage component of the program, every trip is monitored by 1 or 2 observers and the vast majority of groundfish harvest is covered by this portion of the program. Each year, the Annual Deployment Plan (ADP) describes the science-driven method for deployment of observers and EM systems on vessels in the partial coverage component of the program (50 CFR 679.51(a)). The ADP specifies the scientific deployment design for the partial coverage fisheries and the selection rate-the portion of trips that are sampled by observers and EM. The following year, the agency provides an Annual Report with descriptive information and scientific evaluation of the deployment of observers and EM. The ADP and Annual Report process provides information to assess whether the objectives of the Observer Program have been met and a process to make recommendations to improve implementation of the program to further these objectives.
Last updated by Alaska Regional Office on 11/27/2024