West Coast Region Vessel Monitoring Requirement in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requires vessel monitoring systems (VMS) and declaration reports to participate in the commercial sectors of the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. These requirements allow NMFS to monitor vessel compliance with closed areas. The declaration reports also allow NMFS to determine which fishery a vessel is participating in to determine which regulations apply during a specific fishing trip. Pursuant to RIN: 0648-BI45, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposes to revise reporting and monitoring provisions for vessels participating in the Pacific Coast groundfish fishery. This rule would increase the position transmission rate for certain vessels using NMFS type-approved vessel monitoring system units and add a declaration for “gear testing.”

The latest form for West Coast Region Vessel Monitoring Requirement in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery expires 2021-06-30 and can be found here.

VMS: Purchase and Installation

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Conservation, Marine and Land Management