West Coast Groundfish Observer Program Manual, Part2 - NOAA

CHAPTER 5
Vessels Where Hook Counts Are Impossible to Obtain
There are a few vessels in Southern California fishing
longline gear on which it is impossible for Observers to
verify hook counts. The following circumstances combine
to make counting hooks impossible:
1. All hooks must be tallied. This can be for any
either of two reasons:
• Single unit longline gear is being fished.
• The skate knots marking the break between
gear units are not readily discernable during
gear retrieval.
2. The number of hooks per gear unit is extremely
variable. This makes it impossible to use average
hook counts to calculate a total hook count.
3. Vessel is retaining fish alive and discarding live
fish so the Observer must weigh fish during the
retrieval.
4. Gear is baited at an alternate location. Many
fishers pay to have their gear baited. After a trip,
they give their gear to the baiters who take it to a
shop and bait it there. When the gear is returned,
it’s ready to be set.
To determine the number of hooks per skate on these
vessels:
1. Ask the skipper after EACH skate/tub how
many hooks were on that specific skate/tub.
2. Ask the skipper after EACH haul how many
hooks were hauled. This is a way to doublecheck
that the skate counts are correct. If there
is a large discrepancy between the count the
5-34 1/30/2004