"North Pacific Observer Program"

An action for placing certain small catcher/processors in partial observer coverage.

Fisheries observers are biologists who work independently to collect a wide range of information onboard commercial fishing vessels and at shoreside processing plants receiving fish from Alaskan waters. Observer information is used to manage commercial fisheries in the North Pacific.

The science of sustainability.

Under the North Pacific Groundfish and Halibut Observer Program, NOAA Fisheries deploys observers on vessels and in processing facilities to obtain information necessary to conserve and manage the groundfish and halibut fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report

Federal fisheries conducted in waters off Alaska are some of the largest in the world. In 2013, almost 2.4 million metric tons (t) of fish and shellfish were commercially harvested in waters off Alaska, which was just over half of the total catch in U.S. waters (NMFS 2013a). Many of these fisheries are governed by the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Management and Conservation Act (MSA), which, among other things, requires establishing fishery management plans (FMPs) that are consistent with the MSA and its National Standards. The management of Federal groundfish fisheries off Alaska is governed under FMPs that are specific to the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) regions (Fig. 1). The catch of FMP species is monitored using landing and production information that is reported by the commercial fishing industry and at-sea information collected from an extensive at-sea observer program. These data sources are integrated into a NMFS application called the Alaska Catch Accounting System (the CAS) and used to produce the total catch estimates referenced in the FMPs.

The Implementation Plan provides information about the specific electronic monitoring/electronic reporting initiatives in Alaska. Also see September 2018 Amendment.