Released catch affidavit

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE

NORTHEAST REGION

55 Great Republic Drive

Gloucester, MA 01930-2298

RELEASED CATCH AFFIDAVIT

A vessel is prohibited from releasing fish from the codend except when pumping the catch is not possible due to a concern for vessel safety, mechanical failure, or spiny dogfish clog the pump intake. Following such a release, the vessel operator must complete and sign this form and return to port, as detailed at 50 CFR 648.XX. Completed and signed forms must be submitted within 48 hours of the conclusion of a trip to: National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of Law Enforcement (OLE), 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA, 01930.

To be Completed by Vessel Captain
Vessel Name	Permit Number	Date & Time
Vessel Trip Report Serial Number
Primary Reason for Release:	Vessel Safety	 Mechanical Problems
	Dogfish
Please provide additional details on why the codend was released:
	Pounds
Estimated total weight of tow:
Estimated total weight of all fish released:
Signature

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Signature of this form certifies that the vessel operator attests that the information provided on this form is true, complete and correct to the best of their knowledge, and made in good faith (18 U.S.C. 1001). Making a false statement on this form is punishable by law.

Information obtained from the affidavit is held confidential as required by NOAA Administrative Order 216-100, Confidentiality of Fisheries Statistics, and would be used only in summarized form (without identifying the source of data, i.e., vessel name, owner, etc.) for management of the fishery in the future.

Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number.

Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 5 minutes per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or suggestions for reducing this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information to NMFS, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930.

OMB Approval No. 0648-XXXX

expires XX/XX/XXXX