National Observer Program Annual Report - Office of Science and ...

Bluefin Tuna Purse Seine Fishery
The U.S. bluefin tuna purse seine fishery in New England has been inactive for several years, but
there is currently one active vessel (5 permitted vessels) operating out of New Bedford, MA.
Since the fleet was last active, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (ICCAT) has adopted a binding recommendation (2010-10) for a minimum of 5%
observer coverage of fishing effort in the tuna purse seine fishery. Observers are required to
record and report total target catch and by-catch (including sharks, sea turtles, marine mammals,
and seabirds), size composition, disposition status (i.e., retained, discarded dead, released alive),
and the collection of biological samples for life history studies (e.g., gonads, otoliths, spines,
scales); and fishing operation information, including:
• area of catch by latitude and longitude;
• fishing effort information (e.g., number of sets, number of hooks, etc.);
• date of each fishing operation, including, as appropriate, the start and stop times of the
fishing activity.
NEFOP is temporarily providing observer coverage in this fishery.
Electronic Monitoring System Study
The NEFOP continued with the second year of a pilot EM system to test the applicability of
video technology to collect catch and fishing effort data aboard commercial fishing vessels. The
goal of the study is to evaluate the utility of EM as a means to monitor catch on a real-time basis
in the Northeast groundfish sector fleet. Participating vessels were located in a variety of ports
in New England to account for differences in fishing activity in multiple geographic ranges and
effectively assess the applicability of EM in sector-based management.
The Northeast identified several issues during first year of the pilot study and is continuing to
evaluate the use of EM as a cost-saving measure as the industry prepares to fund at-sea
monitoring in 2013. At the end of the first phase, NMFS determined that in its current use, EM
could not be used as an alternative to at-sea monitoring, because the system could not yet
provide weights of fish by species and could not effectively distinguish species of flounder and
hake (nearly 70% of the Annual Catch Entitlement species). NEFOP continued with the second
year of the project in an attempt to rectify the issues of species identification and weights prior to
the 2013 fishing year.
During the second phase of the pilot study, there are nine participating vessels, which represent
the three major gear types in the Northeast region (trawl, gillnet, longline). Data collection and
troubleshooting procedures remain the same, but the goals of the study have expanded to address
the shortcomings found during the first year:
Obtain fish weight with a known accuracy and precision to estimate catch weights;
Develop methods to increase species identification with an emphasis on flounder and
hake species;
Improve data quality of sensor and video and reduce data gaps.
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