For fishing crews and the people who depend on credible fisheries management, collecting information is part of the work of conservation. A January 19 federal final rule allowed observer programs, electronic monitoring and reporting, and self-reported mechanisms within standardized bycatch reporting. A February 8 notice moved its effective date to March 21, still ahead of this February 11 account. [2017-02592][2017-00405]
Those options matter because the rule does not prescribe a single device or one identical procedure for every fishery. A fishery management plan must identify its required collection, recording and reporting procedures. Industry-reported catch and discard data are among the permitted mechanisms. The framework therefore leaves design choices that can affect who supplies information and how it reaches managers. [2017-02592][2017-00405]
Practical limits receive explicit attention. Implementation must be feasible in cost, technical and operational terms, while feasibility concerns do not excuse a plan from establishing a methodology. Councils must address how implementation can adjust as costs and funding vary. That is a requirement to confront constraints, not evidence that any particular reporting option has become affordable. [2017-02592][2017-00405]
The quality question remains alongside the workload question. Councils must design methods whose uncertainty can be described, numerically or qualitatively, and should seek to minimize it. Consultation with scientific advisers covers matters such as sampling and reporting frequency. These complementary federal records establish a pending design framework and its revised timetable; they do not show fewer discarded fish or a measured reduction in crew burdens. [2017-02592][2017-00405]
Source documents
- Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodologyhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-02-08/html/2017-02592.htm
- Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodologyhttps://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2017-01-19/html/2017-00405.htm