2015 Annual Deployment Plan for Observers in the Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries off Alaska

2015 Annual Deployment Plan
for Observers in the Groundfish and
Halibut Fisheries off Alaska
December 2014

Fisheries Monitoring and Analysis Division, Alaska Fisheries Science Center
National Marine Fisheries Service
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115

National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office
P.O. Box 21668
709 W. 9th Street
Juneau, Alaska 99802

Suggested Citation
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2014. 2015Annual Deployment Plan for Observers in the
Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries off Alaska. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 709
West 9th Street. Juneau, Alaska 99802.

Contents
1. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................... 4
2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................ 6
2.1

Purpose and authority ...................................................................................................................... 6

2.2

Process and Schedule ....................................................................................................................... 6

3. 2013 Annual Report Summary ............................................................................................................... 7
4. 2015 Deployment Methods .................................................................................................................... 9
4.1

At-Sea Selection Pools (strata) ........................................................................................................ 9

4.2

Projected At-Sea Deployment (sample size) ................................................................................... 9

4.3

Conditional Release Policy ............................................................................................................ 11

4.4

Chinook Salmon Sampling in the Gulf of Alaska.......................................................................... 13

4.5

BSAI Full Coverage Compliance Agreement ................................................................................ 13

5. Communication and Outreach .............................................................................................................. 13
6. References ............................................................................................................................................ 14
7. List of Preparers and Contributors ....................................................................................................... 15
Appendix A.

Council motion on the Annual Report and ADP .............................................................. 16

Appendix B.

Council Motion on Draft 2015 Annual Deployment ........................................................ 17

Appendix C.

Calculation of the Selection Rate for the Draft 2015 Annual Deployment Plan .............. 18

Appendix D.

Accommodating removal of conditional release provisions ............................................. 24

Appendix E.

Example letter requesting volunteers for Electronic Monitoring (EM)

Appendix F.

Full Coverage Compliance Agreement Letter for the BSAI Pacific Cod Fleet ................ 33

1. Executive Summary
This 2015 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP) documents how the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) intends to assign fishery observers to vessels fishing in the North Pacific during
the calendar year 2015. This ADP only applies to vessels that qualify for partial observer
coverage. Vessels that qualify for full observer coverage are not included in the ADP.


NMFS will use the trip-selection method (i.e., the trip-selection pool) to assign observers to
vessels in 2015. Using the trip-selection method will correct sampling frame problems that
NMFS identified with the vessel-selection method in the 2013 Annual Report.1 Only single
trips will be selected to reduce the impact on specific vessel operators and crew relative to
2013 and 2014.



NMFS will deploy observers into two trip-selection pools for 2015:
o Small vessel trip-selection: This pool is comprised of catcher vessels that are fishing
hook-and-line or pot gear and are greater than or equal to 40 ft, but less than 57.5 ft in
LOA. The vessels in this pool were in the “vessel-selection” pool in the 2013 and 2014
ADPs.
o Large vessel trip-selection: This pool comprises three classes of vessels: 1) all catcher
vessels fishing trawl gear, 2) catcher vessels fishing hook-and-line or pot gear that are
also greater than or equal to 57.5 ft LOA, and 3) catcher-processor vessels exempted
from full coverage requirements. This pool was termed the “trip-selection” pool in the
2013 and 2014 ADPs.



Anticipated selection probabilities will be 12% for the small vessel trip-selection pool and
24% for the large vessel trip-selection pool. This represents an identical selection rate in the
former vessel-selection pool and a 50% increase in the large vessel trip-selection pool
relative to the coverage rates in 2014.



NMFS does not plan to grant conditional releases in the large vessel trip-selection pool in
2015, which is consistent with Council and NMFS policy established in 2014.



NMFS will grant conditional releases in the small vessel category under two scenarios: 1)
vessels with insufficient life-raft capacity to accommodate an observer, or 2) vessels that are
not released due to insufficient life-raft capacity shall be released from observer coverage on
their third trip if it is consecutive to two previously observed trips (i.e., two trips in a row
were observed, resulting in the third trip being released from coverage).



This ADP reduces the impact of human observers on small boats in 2015 in two ways. First,
the selection rate is lower for the small vessels relative to large vessels. This lower selection
rate accommodates the fact that small vessels are more likely to be space constrained.
Second, by assigning an observer on a trip-by-trip basis rather than for an extended duration,
any given vessel has only a 12% chance of having an observer for a fishing trip. Small

1

The 2013 Annual Report is available on the NMFS Alaska Region webpage at
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/annualrpt2013.pdf.

4

vessels that take a limited number of trips during the year will have a very low overall
probability of taking a human observer. NMFS believes this approach exercises reasonable
discretion to mitigate the impact of human observation on fishing operations and considers
the well-being of the fishing crew while providing NMFS and the Council reliable observer
information.


Vessels selected by NMFS to participate in Electronic Monitoring (EM) Cooperative
Research will be in the no selection pool (i.e., not subject to observer coverage) while
participating in such research.



NMFS will continue to collect genetic samples from salmon caught as bycatch in groundfish
fisheries to support efforts to identify stock of origin. The same sampling protocol
established in the 2014 ADP shall be used in 2015.



Trawl vessels that fish for Pacific cod in the BSAI will be given the opportunity to opt-in to
full observer coverage and carry an observer at all times when fishing in the BSAI using the
same approach as 2014.



NMFS will continue to communicate the details of the ADP to affected participants though
letter, public meetings, and posting information on the internet. Outreach activities during
2014/2015 fall and winter will focus on vessels that are transitioning from vessel-selection to
trip-selection.

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2. Introduction
2.1

Purpose and authority

This 2015 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP) documents how the National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS or Agency) intends to assign at-sea and shoreside observers to vessels and
processing plants engaged in fishing operations in the North Pacific under the authority of the
Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management
Area (BSAI FMP), the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA
FMP), and the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982. Data collection by observers is currently
the only reliable and verifiable method available for NMFS to gain fishery discard and biological
information on fish, and data concerning seabird and marine mammal interactions with fisheries.
Onboard observers also perform the critically important task of collecting biological data such as
species composition, weights, and tissue samples that are important for stock assessment
scientists and researchers. Much of this information is expeditiously available (e.g., daily or at
the end of a trip, depending on the type of vessel) to ensure effective management.
Details on the authority and purpose of the ADP are found in the Final Rule for Amendment 86
to the BSAI FMP and Amendment 76 to the GOA FMP (77 FR 70062, November 21, 2012).
This ADP follows section 313 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act (MSA, 16 U.S.C 1862), which authorizes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council
(Council) to prepare a fisheries research plan that requires the deployment of observers into the
North Pacific fisheries and establishes a system of fees. The ADP describes the science-driven
method for observer deployment that enables observers to perform their duties, including species
identification, quantification and disposition of catch, documenting interactions with marine
mammals and seabirds, and collection of biological specimens to support research and
assessment of biological resources in the North Pacific. This ADP specifically describes observer
deployment for the partial coverage category (50 CFR 679.51(a)) in the halibut and groundfish
fisheries in 2015.
2.2

Process and Schedule

NMFS and the Council created the ADP process to provide flexibility in the deployment of
observers to gather reliable data for estimation of catch in the groundfish and halibut fisheries off
Alaska. NMFS and the Council recognized that the amount of observer coverage available for
any given year would be dependent on available revenue generated from fees on groundfish and
halibut landings. Some aspects of observer deployment can be adjusted through the ADP,
including the rates of coverage, the assignment of vessels to a specific partial coverage selection
pool, or the allocation strategy used to deploy observers in the partial coverage category.
The ADP process ensures that the best available information is used to evaluate deployment,
including scientific review and Council input, to annually determine deployment methods. On an
annual basis, NMFS develops an ADP to describe how observers will be deployed for the
upcoming calendar year and prepares an annual report that evaluates the performance of the prior
year’s ADP implementation. The schedule for the 2015 ADP is as follows:

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

June 2014: NMFS presented the 2013 Annual Report to the Council and the public
(NMFS 2014a). The 2013 Annual Report provided a comprehensive evaluation of
observer activities, costs, sampling levels, important program and sampling-related issues
that arose in 2013, enforcement activities, and potential changes for 2015. NMFS
evaluated data collected to identify areas where improvements are needed to (1) collect
the data necessary to manage the groundfish and halibut fisheries, (2) maintain the
scientific goal of unbiased data collection, and (3) accomplish the most effective use of
the funds collected through the observer fees. This review informed the Council and the
public about how well various aspects of the program are working, and consequently lead
to recommendations to adjust sampling methods and priorities for 2015.



June –September 2014: Using information from the 2013 Annual Report and the Council
recommendations on the 2013 Annual Report, NMFS prepared and released the Draft
2015 ADP (NMFS 2014b). The Council’s Observer Advisory Committee (OAC) and
Groundfish Plan Teams reviewed the 2015 ADP.



October 2014: The Council and its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) reviewed
the Draft 2015 ADP and associated Plan Team and OAC recommendations.



November - December 2014: Upon final analysis of the Council recommendations from
its October 2014 meeting (Appendix B), NMFS finalized the 2015 ADP and released it to
the public prior to the December 2014 Council meeting.



June 2015: NMFS will present the Annual Report



Fall 2015: NMFS will release the Draft 2016 ADP for review by the OAC, Groundfish
Plan Teams, SSC, and Council.



December 2015: NMFS will finalize the 2015 ADP and release it to the public prior to
the December 2015 Council meeting.

The analysis and evaluation of the data collected by observers and the ADP development is an
on-going process; in June 2016, NMFS will present the 2015 Annual Report that will form the
basis for the 2016 ADP.

3. 2013 Annual Report Summary
In June 2014, NMFS released the 2013 Annual Report that provided an evaluation of the first
full year of the restructured observer program (NMFS 2014a). The 2013 Annual Report provided
analysis of observer deployment under the 2013 ADP (NMFS 2012), including an overview of
the fees and budget associated with deployment, enforcement of the observer program
regulations, a summary of public outreach events, and a scientific evaluation of observer
deployment conducted by the Observer Science Committee (OSC, Faunce et al. 2014). This 2015
ADP builds upon NMFS recommendations in the 2013 Annual Report as well as review and
recommendations of that report by the Council.

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As part of the Annual Report, the OSC investigated the deployment methods used in 2013 and
found the trip selection process to be working well, whereas the vessel selection process had
several problems that reduced data quality (Faunce et al. 2014). In summary, several important
issues regarding the vessel selection stratum were raised during review of the 2013 Annual
Report:
(1) The sample frame in vessel selection was poorly defined. Vessels in the vessel selection
pool were selected from a list of vessels that fished within a particular selection period
during the year prior to deployment (i.e., 2012). Changes in fishing effort between 2013
and 2012 created an inaccurate list of vessels from which to sample, thereby introducing
substantial data quality concerns into the sampling process.
(2) the conditional release policy for the vessel selection pool imparted bias into the observer
data;
(3) the combination of a poorly defined list of vessels and the conditional release policy
required NMFS to select enough vessels in each selection period to meet anticipated
selection goals. These issues substantially decreased sampling efficiency that culminated
with NMFS abandoning a random selection of vessels to achieve a desired level of
coverage.
Based on these findings, NMFS recommended, and the Council supported changing the random
selection unit from a vessel to a trip for vessels formerly in the vessel-selection pool (see
Appendix A and Appendix B). Moving all vessels to the trip-selection pool is anticipated to
correct the sampling frame problem while also reducing the burden on industry by shortening the
period for which an observer is onboard a vessel. This approach is responsive to public
comments that the selection of a vessel for a two-month period (under the vessel selection
method) was overly burdensome and disruptive to the industry. In the previous approach, once a
vessel in the vessel-selection pool was selected for coverage, it was essentially subject to 100
percent coverage for all trips during that two-month period. Vessels that made multiple trips
during that two-month period were particularly impacted. In some cases, vessels were selected
for multiple two-month periods, which exacerbated the logistical costs and impacts on vessel
operators and crew.
Placing all partial coverage vessels in trip-selection in 2015 is anticipated to mitigate the impact
of observation on small boats with operational and space constraints. First, the selection rate is
lower for the small vessels relative to large vessels. This lower selection rate accommodates
small vessels that are more likely to be space constrained then larger vessels. Second, by
assigning an observer on a trip-by-trip basis rather than for an extended duration, any given
vessel has a relatively low chance of having an observer for a fishing trip. Overall, this represents
a very low probability of taking a human observer. Therefore, the small boats most impacted by
having a person on-board have a limited chance of being selected, and once selected, the impact
is for the duration of a fishing trip, instead of all trips during a two-month period. NMFS
believes this approach exercises reasonable discretion to mitigate the impact of human
observation on fishing operations, considers the well-being of the fishing crew and operational
requirements, and provides NMFS and the Council information needed for management.

8

4. 2015 Deployment Methods
NMFS proposes to use the trip-selection method as the sole method of assigning observers to
fishing events in 2015. Trip-selection refers to the selection of the fishing trip as the sampling
unit, in recognition that this is the highest unit in the hierarchical sampling design of the North
Pacific Observer Program. Trip-selection is facilitated through the Observer Declare and Deploy
System (ODDS). Users are provided a username, password, and telephone number they can use
to log anticipated fishing trips. Logged trips are individually and independently assigned a
random number and the trip is assigned an observer if the number is below or equal to predetermined selection rates.
4.1

At-Sea Selection Pools (strata)

For the purpose of observer deployment, the partial coverage deployment pools are defined as
follows:

4.2



No selection: The “no selection” pool is comprised of catcher vessels less than 40 ft
length overall (LOA), or vessels fishing with jig gear, which includes handline, jig, troll,
and dinglebar troll gear, or vessels that are conditionally released due to life raft capacity
(see section 4.3). In addition, vessels selected by NMFS to participate in the EM
Cooperative Research will be in the no selection pool while participating in such research
(Appendix E). Note: Vessels participating in EM Cooperative Research will still be
required to log trips in ODDS, but will be given a release in ODDS that will over-ride
their selection probabilities.



Small vessel trip-selection: This pool is comprised of catcher vessels that are fishing
hook-and-line or pot gear and are greater than or equal to 40 ft, but less than 57.5 ft in
LOA. The vessels in this pool were in the “vessel-selection” pool in the 2013 and 2014
ADPs.



Large vessel trip-selection: This pool comprises three classes of vessels: 1) all catcher
vessels fishing trawl gear, 2) catcher vessels fishing hook-and-line or pot gear that are
also greater than or equal to 57.5 ft LOA, and 3) catcher-processor vessels exempted
from full coverage requirements (50 CFR 679.51(a)(2)(iv)). This pool was termed the
“trip-selection” pool in the 2013 and 2014 ADPs.
Projected At-Sea Deployment (sample size)

NMFS uses estimates of anticipated fishing effort and available sea-day budgets as the primary
inputs into simulation models used to generate anticipated outcomes from different selection
rates (Appendix C). The most recent complete full-year of fishing effort (2013) was used as a
proxy for fishing effort in 2015.

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The at-sea budget for the deployment of observers was set equal to that from the 2014 ADP:
5,518 days2. This value results from conversions of dollars to days derived from confidential
contract information negotiated between NOAA's acquisition and grants office and the selected
observer provider. NMFS anticipates the budget for 2015 deployment to be approximately
$5.5M, of which $3.2M is projected revenue from the fee for the 2014 calendar year. The
remaining funding includes fees carried over from 2014 and federal funds from NMFS. The
projected fee proceeds for the 2014 fishing year are $1.1M less than the 2013 assessments. This
is due to reductions in both the prices and total allowable catch of key species.
NMFS analyzed a suite of potential rate combinations between the two trip-selection strata that
could be afforded in 2015 (Appendix C). However, since the Council’s June 2014 motion
(Appendix A) requested that NMFS maintain a higher observer coverage rate for all trawl vessels
and fixed gear vessels ≥57.5 ft LOA, NMFS only considered those combinations where the
selection rate was smaller for the small vessel trip-selection strata than the large vessel tripselection strata. This priority is consistent with past Council recommendations and is intended to
balance the need for information on prohibited species catch (PSC) on larger fixed gear and trawl
vessels, while also providing at-sea discard and biological information from catch on smaller
vessels. In addition, moving small vessels into the trip-selection stratum presents a variety of
logistical and outreach challenges for the agency. These vessels were not required to log trips
into ODDS in 2013 and 2014. Successful compliance with ODDS will be critical for defining the
sampling frame and ensuring the integrity of the random selection process. In addition, once
selected, NMFS and its observer contractors will need to deploy observers on vessels in
accordance with their selected trip.
For 2015, NMFS will set selection rates in ODDS at 0.1200 (12%) for trips logged by vessels in
the small vessel trip-selection stratum and 0.2376 (24%) for trips logged by vessels in the large
vessel trip-selection stratum. This represents an identical selection rate in the former vesselselection stratum and a 50% increase in the selection rate in the large vessel trip-selection pool
relative to the coverage rate in 2014 for vessels in this stratum. The selection probabilities
targeted (not realized) in whole percentages over the past three years are shown in Table 4-1.
Table 4-1. Selection probabilities for selection pools from 2013-2015.

Stratum Small vessel trip-selection Large vessel trip-selection
ADP year
rate (%)
unit
rate (%)
unit
2013
11
vessel
11 - 15
trip
2014
12
vessel
16
trip

2015

12

trip

24

trip

NMFS examined the relative risk of obtaining no observer coverage within a NMFS Reporting
Area for a gear type for the year using the proposed selection rates (Appendix C). The analysis
2

In 2014, implementation of the new restructured program presented a high degree of uncertainty regarding the
allocation of observer days across the year. To avoid a budget shortfall at the end of the year, NMFS buffered the
available budget such that 4,718 days were available for coverage in 2014. After two year of experience under the
new program, NMFS believes the buffer is not necessary for deployment in 2015 under this ADP.

10

demonstrates that more sampling is required in the small vessel strata versus the large vessel
strata to achieve the same risk (e.g., median percentile). This result is due to the small vessel
stratum having fewer and shorter trips than the large vessel stratum; therefore, scenarios with
low effort are less likely to have coverage then scenarios with high effort. Although this outcome
suggests an increase in the selection rate in the small vessel stratum is warranted, there are also
other considerations that run counter to this outcome. With the change in selection unit (vessels
to trips), smaller vessels must adapt to trip selection procedures that may have logistical and
outreach challenges. A lower selection rate will mitigate the impacts of observers on smaller
vessel operators and crew who are still adapting to onboard observers.
In its October 2014 motion (Appendix B), the Council reiterated its support of the agency
recommendation to create the small vessel trip selection stratum and maintain the large vessel
trip selection stratum as was done in both 2013 and 2014. The Council also supported using the
deployment rates proposed by NMFS in the Draft 2015 ADP (NMFS 2014b): a 0.2376 selection
rate for the large vessel stratum and a 0.1200 selection rate for the small vessel stratum. In
addition, NMFS has scheduled outreach meetings in key communities to facilitate the transition
from vessel to trip selection (Table 5-1). NMFS will continue to evaluate deployment rates and
departures from the intended deployment plan in future Annual Reports (see Section 2.2).
4.3

Conditional Release Policy

Consistent with both the Council’s recommendation in its October 2014 motion and NMFS’s
recommendation in the Draft 2015 ADP, NMFS does not plan to grant conditional releases in the
large vessel trip-selection pool in 2015.
NMFS will grant conditional releases in the small vessel category under two scenarios: 1) vessels
with insufficient life-raft capacity to accommodate an observer, or 2) vessels that are not released
due to insufficient life-raft capacity shall be released from observer coverage on their third trip if
it is consecutive to two previously observed trips (i.e., two trips in a row were observed, resulting
in the third trip being released from coverage).
The 2013 Annual Report (NMFS 2014a) raised a number of concerns with conditional releases in
the vessel selection stratum (i.e., the small vessel trip-selection stratum in this ADP). Following
these concerns, and recognizing costs associated with obtaining a life raft of sufficient capacity,
NMFS recommended in the Draft 2014 ADP against allowing conditional releases for reasons
other than a life raft. However, in light of the issues associated with conditional releases, and to
inform potential recommendations on a conditional release policy for the 2015 ADP, the Council
requested in its June 2014 motion that NMFS evaluate whether a length > 40’ LOA would better
define the sample frame for the new small trip-selected vessels. NMFS evaluated the distribution
of trips and vessels by size category, and whether there was a notable change in the probability
of observing specific area and gear combinations (Appendix D). The analysis does not show
clear support for a new upper bound of the no-selection strata based on vessel-length in
consideration of alternative conditional release policies.
Consistent with both the Council’s recommendation in its October 2014 motion and NMFS’s
recommendation in the Draft 2015 ADP, conditional releases in 2015 will be granted for vessels

11

in the small vessel trip-selection stratum that do not have sufficient life-raft capacity to
accommodate an observer. The life-raft conditional release would only apply in cases where the
vessel has a four-person life-raft with a four person crew. Vessels with a six-person life raft
would not receive a conditional release because NMFS has evidence that very few trips by
vessels in the 40 ft to 57.5 ft LOA category have taken more than five crew (about 1% of trips).
In addition, vessels will be able log trips in advance and will know which trips are selected for
coverage, and will therefore be able to plan. For example, a vessel could log 3 trips in advance
and plan to take an IFQ client on non-selected trip if the extra person will put them at max
capacity for their six-person life raft.
In order to implement releases for vessels that meet the criteria of a four-person life raft and
four-person crew, vessel operators will need to submit a request for a conditional release based
on the four-person life raft and four-person crew criteria in advance of fishing. NMFS will send a
letter to all participants in the small vessel trip-selection pool and provide them an account in the
ODDS with instructions on how to access the system, and how to submit the necessary
information to petition for a conditional release for life raft capacity.
Any vessels that wish to be considered for a release based on life raft capacity are required to
submit a request in the ODDS stating their life raft capacity, life raft serial number, and crew
size. NMFS will require the information four weeks prior to the vessel starting fishing to provide
sufficient time to evaluate the request and issue a release if warranted.
The scope of this conditional release policy is unknown at this time and was not factored into the
rate determinations in Appendix C. It is possible that the ability to log multiple trips, combined
with the known outcome of those trips could continue to create biases in the data. NMFS will
provide information back to the Council on the scope and impact of these releases in subsequent
Annual Reports.
In making its motion, the Council also recognized the potential burden of having to carry an
observer on small vessels with limited bunk space. NMFS anticipates that moving from a vessel
selection to a trip selection criterion, along with the 12% selection rate, will allow small vessels
to anticipate bunk space issues and plan accordingly to accommodate an observer; however,
planning may become more difficult for vessels with several consecutively selected trips.
Following the Council’s advice in its October 2014 motion (Appendix B), NMFS will release the
third consecutively selected trip for a vessel in the small vessel stratum (i.e., three trips in a row
have been selected for coverage). Regulations still require released vessels to log trips and
comply with ODDs.
This policy represents a change from the 2014 ADP that provided conditional releases from
observer coverage for vessel operators in the vessel-selection stratus who provided reasonable
information that accommodating an observer would displace crew members or additional IFQ
permit holders. The new release policy would narrow the scope of when a vessel operator could
obtain a conditional release. However, the impact of observation on small boats with operational
and space constraints will be mitigated in two ways: 1) the selection rate is lower for the small
vessels, which are more likely to be space constrained, then for larger vessels; and 2) once
selected, the impact is for the duration of a single fishing trip. NMFS believes this approach

12

exercises reasonable discretion to mitigate the impact of human observation on fishing
operations, considers the well-being of the fishing crew while providing NMFS and the Council
information needed for management.
4.4

Chinook Salmon Sampling

Genetic sampling of Chinook salmon in the GOA remains a priority for NMFS in 2015. This
priority follows the implementation of Amendment 93 to the GOA FMP (77 FR 42629, July 20,
2012), which required all vessels fishing for pollock in the central and western GOA to retain
salmon until delivery to a processing facility. The same sampling protocol established in the
2014 ADP (NMFS 2013) for Chinook salmon will remain in effect for 2015. Observers deployed
on trawl trips that target pollock in the GOA will obtain genetic samples from all salmon bycatch
in the offload.
Under Amendment 91 to the BSAI FMP, dockside observers obtain tissues from every salmon
caught as bycatch within every delivery of the Bering Sea pollock fishery (77 FR 53026, August
30, 2010).All vessels in the Bering Sea pollock fishery are in the full coverage category.
Outside of the pollock fisheries, tissues will be obtained from all salmon found within observer
at-sea samples of the total catch. These genetic samples are used by the Alaska Fishery Science
Center to identify the stock of origin of Chinook salmon caught as bycatch in groundfish
fisheries and are important for the management of Chinook PSC.
4.5

BSAI Full Coverage Compliance Agreement

Since 2013, NMFS has provided trawl vessels fishing for Pacific cod an option to carry an
observer at all times when fishing in the BSAI. The additional coverage benefits the management
of that fishery and reduces the population of trips in the partial coverage category, thus
increasing the coverage rates for the trips remaining in partial coverage. In 2013, this fleet met
their anticipated coverage rate of 100% (NMFS 2014). NMFS will provide additional
information about this fleet in the 2014 Annual Report.
NMFS is extending the voluntary full coverage option through 2015, and recognizes this activity
would be best addressed in the long-term through a regulatory change. Entities participating in
the BSAI Pacific cod trawl fishery that want full coverage in 2015 must submit a signed
compliance agreement to NMFS on or before December 1, 2014 (Appendix F). Vessels
operating under a full coverage compliance agreement would pay partial coverage observer fees
as required in regulation, but would also need to contract directly with observer providers and
also directly pay for those observer costs. In addition, vessels operating under the full coverage
compliance agreement must comply with the partial coverage regulations, including logging trips
into ODDS.

5. Communication and Outreach
NMFS will continue to communicate the details of the ADP to affected participants though
letter, public meetings, and posting information on the Internet. Information about the Observer

13

Program is available at:
http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/default.htm
and Frequently Asked Questions are available at:
http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/faq.htm
A series of Frequently Asked Questions regarding ODDS is available at:
https://chum.afsc.noaa.gov:7104/apex/wwv_flow_file_mgr.get_file?p_security_group_id=14379
19156609270&p_flow_id=140&p_fname=ODDS%20FAQ.pdf
Outreach activities during 2014 fall and 2015 winter will focus on changes to the ADP
(transition from vessel-selection to trip-selection). A letter was sent to vessel owners who will be
newly entering into the trip-selection pool (vessels 40-57.5 ft LOA) in late October of 2014. The
letter included an ODDS user name and password and instructions on how to log trips.
The public outreach meetings will also focus on ODDS and how to log trips and include an
ODDS demonstration. NMFS’ goal is to reach a broad range of communities while operating
within budget constraints. Prior to Jan 1, outreach will focus on those areas with large
participation in early Pacific cod fishery and then shift to a focus to communities in southeast
Alaska prior to IFQ fishery in March (Table 5-1). Staff is also available to conduct additional
meetings via teleconference and/or WebEx as requested pending staff availability and local
interest, we would need a community partner to organize locations and equipment availability in
the local port.

Table 5-1 Proposed public outreach meeting locations and schedule.

Location
Seattle, Fish Expo
Homer
Kodiak
Petersburg
Sitka

Date
Nov 19-21
Dec 2, 2014
Dec 4, 2014
1st week of March, 2015
1st week of March, 2015

6. References
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2012. 2013 Annual Deployment Plan for Observers
in the Groundfish and Halibut Fisheries off Alaska. National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration, 709 West 9th Street. Juneau, Alaska 99802. Available at:
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/ADP_Final_2013.pdf
NMFS. 2013. 2014 Annual Deployment Plan for Observers in the Groundfish and Halibut
Fisheries off Alaska. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 709 West 9th
Street. Juneau, Alaska 99802. Available at:
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/adp2014.pdf
NMFS. 2014a. North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer Program 2013 Annual Report.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 709 West 9th Street. Juneau, Alaska
99802. Available at:
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/annualrpt2013.pdf

14

NMFS. 2014b. Draft 2015 Annual Deployment Plan for Observers in the Groundfish and Halibut
Fisheries off Alaska. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 709 West 9th
Street. Juneau, Alaska 99802. Available at:
http://www.alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/draft2015adp.pdf
Faunce C., J. Cahalan, J. Gasper, T. A’mar, S.Lowe, F. Wallace, and R. Webster. 2014.
Deployment performance review of the 2013 North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer
Program. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-281, 74 p. Available at:
http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-281.pdf

7. List of Preparers and Contributors
Jason Gasper, Alaska Regional Office (AKRO)
Craig Faunce, Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)
Jennifer Mondragon, AKRO
With contributions from:
Sally Bibb, AKRO
Jennifer Cahalan (AFSC/PSMFC)
Gretchen Harrington, AKRO
Martin Loefflad, AFSC
Glenn Merrill, AKRO
Alicia Miller, AFSC
Chris Rilling, AFSC
Farron Wallace, AFSC

15

Appendix A.

Council motion on the Annual Report and ADP

C-2 Observer Program Annual Report – Council motion
June 5, 2014
1. The Council requests NMFS and AFSC develop the draft 2015 ADP for Council review with
the following considerations.
The Council supports NMFS recommendations to move participants in the vessel selection pool
into the trip selection pool. The Council requests NMFS and AFSC analyze the 2013 vessel
selection pool data, as well as likely changes in the burdens associated with carrying an observer
on vessels in the trip selection pool, to determine whether a vessel length other than 40’ better
defines the new trip selection sample frame in the 2015 ADP, in order to remove provisions for
conditional release. The Council requests this information in order to make recommendations to
NMFS and AFSC as part of the draft 2015 ADP review. The Council is concerned with potential
bias introduced in the partial coverage category through conditional releases.
2. The Council requests NMFS maintain a higher observer coverage rates for all trawl vessels
and fixed gear vessels over 57.5’ in the revised trip selection pool in order to expand coverage
on PSC limited fisheries, consistent with past Council recommendations.
3. The Council requests NMFS take the following SSC and OAC recommendations into
consideration in the development of the draft 2015 ADP and the 2014 Annual Report, as well
as ongoing agency evaluations and improvements to the program.
 Provide additional information on observer rates and coverage by gear type, in addition to
numbers of trips and deployment.
 Examine potential associations of PSC with trip attributes on observed vessels.
 Continue the evaluation of PSC and bycatch estimation from observed vessels to the
entire fishery.
 In the annual report, include a section outlining changes made to the program that have
been made in the current year’s ADP.
 Begin to address the question of how and when the program transitions to optimization of
observer days according to particular fishery data and management needs.
 Recommend the agency work with fishermen and processors in the development of a trip
identifier.
 Provide more detailed program cost information in order to assess inefficiencies in the
program, especially in contrast to observer day costs in the full coverage category. In
addition, evaluate ways to achieve cost efficiencies in the partial observer contract.
 Include <40’ vessels in electronic monitoring testing to the extent possible.
4. The Council appreciates the development of performance metrics and encourages NMFS to
continue to develop tools to evaluate data quality and deployment performance.
5. The Council continues to support supplementary Federal funding for the Observer Program in
order to provide bridge funding between calendar years and cover collected fees that have
been set aside due to sequestration rules.

16

Appendix B.

Council Motion on Draft 2015 Annual Deployment

C1 Observer ADP
Council Motion - FINAL
10/9/14

The Council approves the Annual Deployment Plan for 2015 with the following
recommendations:
 Use trip selection strata to assign vessels in 2015.


Using two selection strata for 2015: small vessel trip selection and large vessel trip
selection.



Use 12% selection probability for the small vessel trip selection stratum and 24%
selection probability for the large vessel stratum.



Allow conditional releases in 2015 for vessels in the small vessel trip selection stratum
that: 1) do not have sufficient life raft capacity to accommodate an observer, and/or 2) to
assist in addressing bunk space limited vessels, have been selected for two consecutive
trips (e.g., the third consecutive trip is released).



Vessels selected by NMFS to participate in EM Cooperative Research will be in the no
selection pool while participating in such research.



Trawl vessels that fish for Pacific cod in the BSAI will be given the opportunity to opt-in
to full observer coverage and carry an observer at all times while fishing in the BSAI
using the same approach as 2014.



The Annual Report will include information to evaluate a sunset provision, including
information on the potential for bias that could be introduced through life raft conditional
release, the costs to an individual operator of upgrading to a larger life raft, and the
enforcement disincentives from downgrading one’s life raft.

17

Appendix C.

Calculation of the Selection Rate for the 2015 Annual
Deployment Plan

Introduction
Following the NMFS recommendation put forth in the 2013 Annual Report (NMFS, 2014), the
Draft 2015 Annual Deployment Plan proposes that the method known as “trip-selection” be the
sole method of assigning observers within the ‘partial-coverage’ category (i.e., the portion that is
sampled) of the fleet. Trip-selection is accomplished through the Observer Declare and Deploy
System (ODDS). Trip-selection members are sent a letter prior to the start of the calendar year
with their username and password so that they may access the ODDS and log planned fishing
trips. Each logged trip is assigned a random number of four digits as low as 0 and up to and
including 1 (e.g., 0.0000, 0.1234, 1.0000, etc.). This random number is then evaluated against a
pre-programmed selection rate. If the random number is below or equal to the selection rate the
trip is selected for observation, otherwise it is not. For this reason, a selection rate is required
prior to the start of the year for which trips are going to be logged.
In their June 5th 2014 Motion, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council stated their desire
to retain separate rates for two categories of vessels: a lower selection rate for the vessels
formerly in the “vessel-selection” stratum, and a higher selection rate for those vessels in the
former “trip-selection stratum”. Under the assumption that both of these groups of vessels will be
assigned an observer using trip-selection, they are hereafter referred to as “little t” (t) and “big T”
(T) respectively.
The purpose of this analysis is to describe the methods and results of the selection rate
determination.
Methods and Results
Data developed by the staff of the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the Alaska Regional Office
and the Fisheries Monitoring Division of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center for the 2013
Annual Report (NMFS, 2014) was used in this analysis. All analyses were performed using the R
language for statistical computing (R Core Team, 2014) following the general procedures used
previously in the 2013 and 2014 Annual Deployment Plans.
Determining the afforded rate
The selection rate that can be afforded in the coming year depends on several factors. These
include the amount of fishing that is expected to occur and the available budget. The available
budget for 2015 was set equal to that of 2014: 5518 days, as provided by the Fishery Monitoring
Division of the AFSC. The most recent full year for which deployment and fishing effort (trips)
data were available (2013) was used as a proxy for 2015 fishing effort.
A range of possible combinations of selection rates between t and T were explored. The sampling
rate for the small vessel component of the fleet was held fixed and the number of observed days
was computed. The number of days remaining after sampling the small vessel stratum was then
allocated to sampling the large vessel stratum. This process was repeated in a simulation
exercise.

18

In the first step of this exercise, the number of trips observed in the small vessel stratum (nt) was
determined by multiplying the total number of trips in t (Nt) by the initial (fixed) rate rt. For each
of 100 simulation trials, the total number of days observed (Dt) was computed as the sum of days
nt

on those observed trips (dt), Dt   dt . The number of days available to sample the large vessel
t 1

stratum, T (DT) was then obtained by subtracting the days spent observing the smaller vessels
from the total number of days budgeted, DT = 5518 - Dt. The 100 values of Dt yielded 100 values
of DT.
In the second step of this exercise, trips in T were sequentially selected to be sampled and the
cumulative sum of the number of days on those sampled trips (dT) was subtracted from DT until
DT remaining ≤ dT. The total number of trips sampled (nT) divided by the total T trips yielded the
rate obtained in the large vessel stratum (rT). This process was repeated 10 times for each of the
100 (step 1) simulation trials, e.g. for each of the 100 DT obtained above. This yielded 1000 rT
values for a given rt value.
The above two-step simulation exercise was conducted for a range of initial small vessel rates
(rt) beginning with 0.12 and increasing at increments of 0.01 to a final value of 0.19. The median
value for rT that accompanied each increment of rt was:
rt
0.12
0.13
0.14
0.15
0.16
0.17
0.18
0.19

median rT
0.236
0.232
0.227
0.221
0.216
0.210
0.205
0.200

From this suite of options, an rt value of 0.12 was selected by NMFS for the Draft 2015 Annual
Deployment Plan. This corresponds to an average selection of one trip every 8.3 trips logged. For
reference, weighting all vessels equally, the average vessel-selection vessel in 2013 fished 5.8
trips spanning 25 days and carried an observer for 0.4 of those trips. The average rate of
observed trips to total trips among individual vessels in this stratum was equivalent to one
observed trip every 20 logged.
Using the selected rt of 0.12, a second set of more refined simulations were performed. For each
simulation trial, the process ODDS uses to select trips was simulated; each trip in t and T was
assigned a four-digit random number, and was virtually selected for observer coverage if below
0.12 in t and below 0.236 in T. The number of days in each selected trip was summed across all
selected trips to generate the total number of observed days (B) in both strata (small and large
trips selection) for each simulation trial. The mean observed days over 10,000 simulation trials
was computed. Because the mean number of observed days was not originally equal to the
number of days budgeted, this final process was repeated using an adjusted rT until this condition
was true. The final rate for rT was 0.2376. This corresponds to an average selection of one trip

19

every 4.2 trips logged. For reference, weighting all vessels equally, the average trip-selection
vessel in 2013 fished 13 trips spanning 57 days and carried an observer for 1.9 of those trips. The
average rate of observed trips to total trips among individual vessels in this stratum was
equivalent to one observed trip every 7.6 trips logged. The mean value of B from simulations
was 5,517 and the maximum value obtained was 6,127 days (Figure B-1, upper panel).
Risk of going over-budget
Contrary to the 2013 and 2014 Annual Deployment Plans, the simulations described here were
not designed to sample at a rate such that 90% of the simulated B values were at or below
budget. Instead, they are designed so that the median (50%) of the simulated B values are at or
below budget. The percentage of simulated outcomes above a given budget was generated using
a cumulative distribution function (Figure B-1, lower panel).
Evaluation of all possible rates
The selection rates for the 2015 Draft Annual Deployment Plan can be evaluated using
performance metrics. The performance metric used here is the probability of failing to obtain
any observed trips in a NMFS Area, and gear type, following the methods described in the 2013
Annual Report (NMFS, 2014; Faunce et al., 2014). Probabilities of failing to obtain an observed
trip were obtained using the hypergeometric distribution for cells defined by gear type, NMFS
Area, and strata (T and t). Greater sampling rates in t are required to achieve the same likelihood
of failing to obtain any observed trips compared to T (Figure B-2). A summary of the data
depicted in Figure B-2 for the proposed selection rates in each stratum are shown in the table
below.
Metric

Stratum
t: former vessel-selection T: former trip-selection
(12.00 % sample rate)
(23.76 % sample rate)

Probability of having no observed trips at the end of the year within NMFS Areas and Gear Type Cells*
5% of the cells have probabilities less than...
25% of the cells have probabilities less than...
50% of the cells have probabilities less than...
75% of the cells have probabilities less than...
95% of the cells have probabilities less than...
100% of the cells have probabilities less than...

0
0
0.002
0.464
0.774
0.880

0
0
0
0.002
0.439
0.760

* values for T computed using a selection rate rounded to the nearest two digits (0.24).
Literature Cited
Faunce, C., J. Cahalan, J. Gasper, T. A’mar, S. Lowe, F. Wallace, and R. Webster. 2014.
Deployment performance review of the 2013 North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer
Program. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-281, 74 p.
http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-281.pdf
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2014. North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut
Observer Program 2013 Annual Report. NOAA/NMFS, 709 W. 9th St, Juneau, AK. 106 p.
plus appendices.
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/annualrpt2013.pdf

20

R Core Team. 2014. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for
Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org/

21

Figure B-1: Upper panel: Histogram distribution of the amount of observer days required to sample from a mixed
population of t at 0.1200 (12%) and T at 0.2376 (23.76%) resulting from 10,000 simulations. The mean outcome is
depicted in a blue vertical dotted line (5517 days) and the available 2015 day budget is depicted in a solid black line (5518
days). Lower panel: The percentage of 10,000 simulations with annual observer day budgets greater than the available
budget of 5518 days. The horizontal x-axis has been adjusted to reflect the days in a given simulation relative to the
available budget. The available budget and mean outcome are depicted as in the top panel, while the maximum outcome
is depicted in the vertical red line to the right.

22

Figure B-2: Boxplot distribution of the probability of failing to obtain any observed trips within an estimation cell defined
as NMFS area and gear type for the entire duration of 2015 within the t (blue) and T (red) strata as a function of
changing selection probabilities (sample rate; r). Boxplot distributions have been modified to reflect 90% of the outcomes
within whiskers, whereas the lower and upper boxes depict the 25th and 75th percentiles and horizontal lines depict
median (50th percentile) values. Selection rates are depicted only up to 0.3 (30%) to improve readability.

23

Appendix D. Accommodating removal of conditional release provisions: how
the 2013 vessel-selection stratum changes as smaller vessels are
removed
Introduction
“Conditional release” is the term used to describe when a vessel has requested and is granted
exceptions from the requirement to carry a NMFS-trained observer under Amendments 86 and
76 to the Fishery Management Plans of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and the Gulf
of Alaska respectively. NMFS conditional release policies have been the subject of considerable
debate since the establishment of the vessel-selection stratum of the North Pacific Observer
Program in 2013. This stratum for 2013 and 2014 is composed of pot or hook-and-line gear
vessels sized between 40 and 57.5 feet in overall length. This stratum definition was largely
derived from a model aimed at maximizing the differences in landing report catch weight by gear
type and vessel-size (NPFMC et al., 2010). Since requirements for fisheries observers prior to
2013 extended only to vessels > 60 feet in length, the vessel-selection stratum contains the
majority of vessels that are new to observation in the North Pacific.
The Council recommended that NMFS grant conditional releases in 2013 and 2014 due to
logistical, economic, and safety concerns on these vessels new to observers. Releases have been
granted because there is not enough bunk space on the vessel to accommodate crew and an
observer, if the housing of an observer results in displacement of a crew member or IFQ holder,
or if taking an observer may require increased safety requirements such as a life raft of increased
capacity.
Conditional releases were granted disproportionately among the two partial-coverage
deployment strata in 2013. Releases from coverage were granted in less than 1% of logged trips
within the trip-selection stratum whereas vessels selected for observer coverage in the vesselselection stratum had half of their trips released from coverage (Tables 5 & 7, Faunce et al.,
2014). This pattern is expected to also be evident in 2014 since there was no change in the
conditional release policies or deployment strata definitions from the prior year.
In the review of the 2013 observer program, NMFS and the Council’s Scientific and Statistical
Committee raised concerns about the impact of conditional releases on the quality and quantity
of observer data. In the Annual Report NMFS made two relevant recommendations: 1) that
vessels formerly in the vessel-selection stratum be moved into the trip-selection stratum and 2)
that conditional releases are applied to all activities within a sampling unit (e.g., a two-month
period for a selected vessel in 2013 and 2014) or are not granted at all (NMFS, 2014). In their
June 5th 2014 Motion, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council requested an analysis that
reads:
“The Council requests NMFS and AFSC analyze the 2013 vessel selection pool data, as well as
likely changes in the burdens associated with carrying an observer on vessels in the trip
selection pool, to determine whether a vessel length other than 40’ better defines the new trip
selection sample frame in the 2015 ADP, in order to remove provisions for conditional release.
The Council requests this information in order to make recommendations to NMFS and AFSC as

24

part of the draft 2015 ADP review. The Council is concerned with potential bias introduced in
the partial coverage category through conditional releases.”
The following work addresses this motion.
Methods and Results
Although not explicitly stated, the Council motion implies an evaluation of the potential effects
of removing vessels below a certain size from the requirements of human observation under the
assumption that vessels above a certain size would not be given conditional release provisions. It
is important to note that the removed vessels would then belong to the zero-coverage category of
the North Pacific Observer Program. In order for the new vessel length to “better determine the
new trip-selection stratum”, the Council is signaling their desire to evaluate the metric that
defines the breaks among strata from catch to conditional release provisions.
Since vessels below a certain size would be moved into zero-coverage, data-quality concerns are
addressed here based on the amount of data remaining in the former vessel-selection stratum as
vessels below a certain size are moved into the zero selection stratum. There are two reasons for
this: 1) total catch estimates would continue to be generated by applying discard rates from
observed vessels in this stratum to landed catch from all vessels in this stratum and the zero
selection stratum, and 2) the analyses in Appendix C demonstrate that changes to the population
size in the former vessel selection stratum will not significantly alter the selection rate in the
former trip-selection stratum since the latter stratum is much larger than the former. In addition,
an analysis of prior conditional releases by vessel size is required. A clear pattern by vessel size
would support an alternative definition of the former vessel-selection stratum based on the
rationale described above.
Data developed by the staff of the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the Alaska Regional Office
and the Fisheries Monitoring Division of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center for the 2013
Annual Report (NMFS, 2014) was used in this analysis. All analyses were performed using the R
language for statistical computing (R Core Team, 2014).
Changes to the vessel-selection stratum as vessels below a certain length are removed
The number of unique vessels in the 2013 vessel-selection stratum and the number of trips they
fished was the focus of this data summary. The number of trips and vessels within this stratum
were tallied according to vessel length in one-foot increments. In order to gain further insight
into the effects of NMFS Area and Gear, the above process was then repeated for trips using
these additional factors.
Trips appear evenly distributed among different vessels between 40 and 57 feet in length. The
number of trips remaining in the stratum steadily declined as vessels of increasing size were
removed (Figure C-1). The decline in total remaining trips in this stratum is largely due to the
Gulf of Alaska hook-and-line sector, with greater losses in NMFS areas 630 (Central) and 650
(Southeast Outside) as vessels of increasing length are removed from the stratum (Figure C-2).

25

Similar to the patterns exhibited in trips, the number of vessels in each length increment appears
to also be evenly distributed. The number of vessels remaining in the former stratum steadily
declined as vessels of increasing size were removed (Figure C-3).
Review of past conditional releases by vessel size
Data on the number of vessels in this stratum that were selected to carry observers and those that
were granted conditional releases were summarized by vessel length (Figure C-4). As already
mentioned, the number of conditional releases granted in this stratum during 2013 was quite
large. Over the span of the entire year, the ratio of released vessels to selected vessels was
0.52:1, meaning that over half of the selected vessels were granted a conditional release. There
was no obvious pattern in the data related to vessel size. For example, vessels in every one-foot
length increment were selected for coverage at some point of 2013, and at least one vessel
belonging to all size increments was granted a conditional release with the exceptions of the 49,
53, and 55 foot increments. In addition, a smaller proportion of selected vessels at the smallest
length class of vessels (40-41 feet) obtained a conditional release than substantially larger vessels
(e.g. 50-52).
Literature Cited
Faunce, C., J. Cahalan, J. Gasper, T. A’mar, S. Lowe, F. Wallace, and R. Webster. 2014.
Deployment performance review of the 2013 North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer
Program. U.S. Dep. Commer., NOAA Tech. Memo. NMFS-AFSC-281, 74 p.
http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Publications/AFSC-TM/NOAA-TM-AFSC-281.pdf
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2014. North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut
Observer Program 2013 Annual Report. NOAA/NMFS, 709 W. 9th St, Juneau, AK. 106 p.
plus appendices.
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/observers/annualrpt2013.pdf
NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2013. Fisheries of the United States 2012. Current
Fishery Statistics (2012). Office of Science and Technology, Silver Spring. 139 p.
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/Assets/commercial/fus/fus12/01_front2012.pdf
NPFMC (North Pacific Fishery Management Council), NMFS, and AFSC (Alaska Fisheries
Science Center). 2011. Appendix 9: Identification of stratum for the deployment of fishery
observers aboard North Pacific groundfish catcher vessels. pgs A-45 to A-49 In:
Environmental Assessment/Regulatory Impact Review/Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
for Proposed Amendment 86 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering
sea/Aleutian Islands Management Area and Amendment 76 to the Fishery Management Plan
for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska: Restructuring the Program for Observer Procurement
and Deployment in the North Pacific.
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/analyses/observer/amd86_amd76_earirirfa0311.pdf
R Core Team. 2014. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation
for Statistical Computing, Vienna. http://www.R-project.org/.

26

Figure C-1: The number of trips that remain in the former vessel-selection stratum when vessels of a given size or
smaller are removed and placed into the zero-coverage category. For reference, 40 on the horizontal x-axis depicts the
entire stratum, whereas there are no vessels remaining if all vessels less than 57’ (denoted as 56’ on x-axis) are removed.

27

Figure C-2: Boxplot distribution of the decline in the number of trips that remain in the former vessel-selection stratum
considering vessels of a given size or smaller are removed and placed into the zero-coverage category. Data are organized
by gear-type and NMFS Reporting area. For reference, 40 on the horizontal x-axis depicts the entire stratum (i.e. the
status quo in 2013 and 2014), whereas there are no vessels remaining if all vessels less than 57’ (denoted as 56’ on x-axis)
are removed.

28

Figure C-3: The number of vessels in the former vessel-selection stratum that are above a given vessel length.

29

Figure C-4: Top panel: Number of vessels in the former vessel-selection stratum in one foot length categories that were
selected for observer coverage and those that were given a conditional release. Bottom panel: The proportion of selected
vessels in one foot length categories that were not given a conditional release.

30

Appendix E. Example letter requesting volunteers for Electronic Monitoring
(EM) cooperative research
In 2014, the Council established a EM Workgroup as a Council committee, to allow industry,
agency, and EM service providers a forum to cooperatively and collaboratively design, test, and
develop EM systems that are consistent with Council goals and objectives to integrate EM into
the Observer Program3. Multiple research tracks are being undertaken under the EM cooperative
research plan in order to collect information that will help inform future Council alternatives for
EM to enable catch estimation. As part this research, NMFS sent out the following letter
offering release from observer coverage for volunteer vessels, while they are participating in the
study. Using the priorities listed in the letter, 10 vessels were selected by NMFS to participate in
the EM cooperative research.
-------------------EXAMPLE LETTER----------------Dear
The North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer Program is seeking volunteers to participate
in a cooperative research project using electronic monitoring (EM) technology to collect data on
board commercial fishing vessels. The goal of the research is to determine whether EM
technologies can be used to complement or improve existing data collection programs and
whether this can be achieved in a cost-effective and sustainable manner. The Observer Program
is looking for approximately 10 volunteer vessels to participate in the program.
Vessels participating in this cooperative research by volunteering for EM systems in 2014
will be removed from the Observer Program’s vessel selection pool process for the duration
of the vessel’s participation in the cooperative research.
Priority will be given to vessels that meet the following criteria:
 Are currently in the vessel selection coverage category of the observer program;
 Were previously released from coverage in 2013 or 2014;
 Are 40-57.5 feet in length fishing IFQ quota.
Please note that while these are our priorities, we will consider any fixed gear vessel whose
owner expresses an interesting in helping us on this EM development project.
EM systems will be installed in Homer, Kodiak, Petersburg, or Sitka, AK. Once the vessel’s
participation has ended, these systems will be removed at one of these ports. Vessels that are
selected will have the option to carry an electronic logbook (e-log). E-logs are available to be
deployed on any longline or pot vessels that are interested. NOAA enforcement allows use of
the e-log for the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) regulation requirements. A
paper printout from the e-log can be provided to the port sampler in-season or sent to the IPHC
after the fishing season.

3

More information about the EM Workgroup is available on the Council’s website:
http://www.npfmc.org/observer-program/

31

It is also anticipated that a Request for Proposals (RFP) will be released later in the year for
approximately 5-10 vessels to participate in a second phase of cooperative research in which
vessels will be paid to carry both an EM system and an observer. We are offering financial
compensation for this aspect of the cooperative research as it will likely require more effort on
the part of the participating vessels. This phase of the research will be open to all vessels in
partial coverage using fixed gear. We are in the planning phase of this RFP process and more
details will follow.
If you would like to participate in this EM cooperative research in Alaska, please contact
Elizabeth Chilton at 206 526-4197 or via e-mail at [email protected] by May 30th,
2014. We look forward to working with you in this cooperative research endeavor as it will
likely influence the future of fisheries monitoring in Alaska.

32

Appendix F. Full Coverage Compliance Agreement Letter for the BSAI Pacific
Cod Fleet
EXAMPLE LETTER REQUESTING FULL COVERAGE IN BSAI PACIFIC COD FISHERY
(Include your return mailing address)
(Date your letter)
James W. Balsiger
National Marine Fisheries Service
P.O. Box 21668
Juneau, Alaska 99801
Dear Dr. Balsiger:
We are writing to request that the National Marine Fisheries Service assign the attached list of
vessels with 100% observer coverage for 2015 any time these boats are fishing in the Bearing
Sea Aleutian Islands (BSAI) in 2015. This will enable trawl catcher vessels in the BSAI Pacific
cod fishery to take observer coverage in addition to that required for the partial observer
coverage category.
We understand that we will be required to comply with all applicable regulations, including
logging all fishing trips that are not AFA pollock prior to the start of a trip. Trips will be logged
in the Observer Declare and Deploy System (ODDS).
Once the trips are logged, we understand that we will procure an observer through one of the five
certified observer providers and pay for this observer coverage directly to the observer providers.
In addition, we understand that the observer fee liability under §679.55 would continue to apply.
We agree to, and understand, the following:
1.
individuals taken over and above existing observer coverage requirements are observers
as defined at §679.2;
2.
vessel owners and operators will comply with the prohibitions protecting observers that
are at §679.7(g) and will meet the vessel responsibilities described at §679.51(e);
3.
vessel owners and operators are subject to general requirements applicable to observers
described at §600.746;
4.
vessel owners or operators must log all fishing trips and follow applicable regulations
when they are in the partial coverage category; and
5.
landings will be subject to the observer fee under §679.55.

Sincerely,

33

Vessel Name: ___________
Federal Fisheries Permit Number:
ADF&G Vessel Number:
Printed Name of the vessel owner:
Signature of the vessel owner:
Vessel Name: ___________
Federal Fisheries Permit Number:
ADF&G Vessel Number:
Printed Name of the vessel owner:
Signature of the vessel owner:
Vessel Name: ___________
Federal Fisheries Permit Number:
ADF&G Vessel Number:
Printed Name of the vessel owner:
Signature of the vessel owner:
Vessel Name: ___________
Federal Fisheries Permit Number:
ADF&G Vessel Number:
Printed Name of the vessel owner:
Signature of the vessel owner:

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