New South Atlantic For-Hire Reporting Requirements – Information for Greater Atlantic Permit Holders

Beginning on January 4, 2021, all fishermen with Atlantic federal charter/head­boat permits for Snapper-Grouper, Coastal Migratory Pelagics, and Dolphin/Wahoo issued by NOAA’s Southeast Regional Office (SERO) will be required to electronically report their fishing effort and landings through the NOAA Fisheries Southeast For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program.

How Will This Affect For-Hire Operators in the Greater Atlantic Region?

Individuals holding only for-hire permits issued by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) will not be impacted by these changes. You can continue submitting your electronic VTRs as you are right now.

Individuals holding both a GARFO for-hire permit and a Southeast Region Office (SERO) charter/headboat permit for any of the species listed above will be subject to new reporting requirements.

Information for Dual GARFO and SERO For-Hire Permit Holders

In early December, SERO will be sending you an informational toolkit that explains the Southeast For-Hire Electronic Reporting Program. The toolkit is also available here.

New Reporting Requirements

As a result of holding the SERO permit, you will need to report the new information listed below, in addition to the GARFO information you are accustomed to reporting. 

  • Socio-economic questions:

    • Trip Fee (dollars);

    • Fuel Used (gallons);

    • Price of Fuel (dollars per gallon).

  • Requirement to submit did-not-fish reports in weeks in which no fishing activity occurs in any fishery.

How to Report

  • As a holder of a SERO permit, you will be required to meet these reporting requirements regardless of where you fish or what species you target.

  • If you have been reporting using eTrips/Mobile 2, simply continue to report with this software as you have been, as the new fields will automatically appear in January and  this system meets both regions’ requirements.

  • If you have been reporting using the Fish Online eVTR application, we strongly encourage you to convert to eTrips/Mobile 2 to satisfy the reporting requirements of both GARFO and SERO. At present, Fish Online does not meet SERO reporting requirements.

When to Report:

Reports must still be submitted within 48 hours of landing to meet GARFO requirements.

For Assistance with Reporting Requirements Contact

  • Your local GARFO Port Agent

  • GARFO reporting group at 978-281-9246

  • If you are a Fish Online user and want to switch to using eTrips, call 1-800-984-0810 or visit https://www.accsp.org/what-we-do/safis/etrips-mobile-instructions/

Additional Information

MAFMC to Host Workshop Addressing Law Enforcement Issues in For-Hire Fisheries

Tuesday, November 13, 12:00 p.m. – Wednesday, November 14, 4:00 p.m.

Embassy Suites by Hilton Philadelphia Airport
9000 Bartram Avenue, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19153
Phone: 215-796-6001 
Room Block: Online reservations, Group Name: Mid-Atlantic Fishery, Group Code: MAF (October 16 cutoff)

Details and Registration: http://www.mafmc.org/workshop/law-enforcement-for-hire-workshop

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will host a workshop November 13-14 (Law Enforcement/ For-Hire Workshop) to identify issues related to law enforcement in for-hire fisheries and sale by recreational anglers of tilefish and tuna and to develop potential solutions. Specifically, the workshop will address:

  1. Operator versus angler (client) responsibility for fisheries violations that occur on for-hire vessels and law enforcement options for addressing these.

  2. Issues related to the sale of fish by private recreational anglers (particularly golden tilefish and tunas) focusing on the need for vessels selling fish to comply with U.S. Coast Guard requirements and/or Federal permits that allow for the sale of fish.

Recommendations coming from this workshop will be presented during the Council’s December meeting for formal discussion. State and federal fisheries law enforcement, as well as operators of for-hire vessels and private vessels fishing for tuna or tilefish along the Atlantic who may have encountered these issues, may want to participate.

The workshop is open to the public and free to attend but pre-registration is requested to ensure adequate meeting facilities. For more information and to register, visit http://www.mafmc.org/workshop/law-enforcement-for-hire-workshop.

Scientific and Statistical Committee to Meet March 13-14, 2018

The Council’s SSC will meet March 13-14, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. Topics to be discussed include blueline and golden tilefish specifications, NEFSC clam dredge survey redesign, NEFSC State of the Ecosystem Report, and a discussion paper on coefficients of variation for estimates of the overfishing limit. 

October 2017 Council Meeting Summary

The following summary highlights actions taken and issues considered at the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s October 2017 meeting in Riverhead, NY. Presentations, briefing materials, and webinar recordings are available on the Council website at http://www.mafmc.org/briefing/october-2017.

Open October 2017 Council Meeting Summary (pdf)

Publication: A Framework for Incorporating Species, Fleet, Habitat, and Climate Interactions into Fishery Management

The following article was published in Frontiers in Marine Science, section Marine Ecosystem Ecology.

A Framework for Incorporating Species, Fleet, Habitat, and Climate Interactions into Fishery Management

Sarah K. Gaichas, Richard J. Seagraves, Jessica M. Coakley, Geret S. DePiper, Vincent G. Guida, Jonathan A. Hare, Paul J. Rago, and Michael J. Wilberg.

Abstract

Marine ecosystems are characterized by many complex interactions. Fisheries managers face the challenge of maintaining or restoring sustainability for individual living resources which are affected by both ecological and economic interactions with other species, through processes like predation and fishing fleet interactions. These species interactions are further complicated by interactions with habitats that are changing due to both human activities and climate change. Often, fishery management systems designed to promote sustainability of individual resources have few tools or processes that also address interactions between species, fleets, habitat, and climate. Here, we review existing and potential fishery assessment and management information and tools, and we develop a potential framework for addressing interactions in management at the request of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The structured framework can be used to first prioritize interactions, second specify key questions regarding high priority interactions, and third tailor appropriate analyses to address them. The primary tools for the initial steps in the framework are risk assessment and Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE). Finally, implemented management would be evaluated to ensure that objectives are being met, or to adjust measures as conditions change. In the final section, we outline an example to illustrate how a structured decision making process within the framework could work.

Full Article:

Read Online / Download PDF

October 2015 Council Meeting Summary

The following summary highlights actions taken and issues considered at the Council’s meeting on October 6 – 8, 2015 in Philadelphia, PA.

June 2015 Council Meeting Summary

The following summary highlights actions and issues considered at the Council's June 8-11 meeting in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Mid-Atlantic Council to Hold Hearings on Deep Sea Corals Amendment

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold six public hearings in January to gather public comments on the Deep Sea Corals Amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Hearings will be held January 12 – 20, 2015, and written comments will be accepted until January 28, 2015.

December 10 Listening Session: Deep Sea Corals in the Mid-Atlantic

Members of the public are invited to attend the Council’s next listening session at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, December 10th to learn more about deep sea corals in the Mid-Atlantic. Guest speaker will be Dr. Martha Nizinski, a zoologist at the NOAA Fisheries National Systematics Lab

October 2014 Council Meeting Report

The following summary highlights Council actions and issues considered at the October 2014 Council Meeting held in Philadelphia, PA on October 7-9. 

NOAA selects two areas in the North Atlantic for targeted habitat conservation efforts

NOAA has announced the selection of two sites in NOAA’s North Atlantic Region as the next Habitat Focus Areas under NOAA’s Habitat Blueprint. In the Mid-Atlantic, the agency will focus its habitat  conservation and restoration efforts on the Choptank River complex in Maryland and Delaware.

NOAA Fisheries: Final ESA Section 7 Consultation Biological Opinion Now Available

NOAA Fisheries announces that the Final biological opinion to assess the impact of seven Northeast fisheries on various species listed under the federal Endangered Species Act as either threatened or endangered is now available.

NOAA Fisheries: Federal Funds Available for Habitat Restoration in Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland and Virginia

NOAA Fisheries Service has announced more than $6 million in funding for habitat restoration projects in Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, and Virginia to restore more than 11,000 acres of habitat, and open more than 200 stream miles for fish passage.