Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Amendment 14 Data Collection

This is a request for renewal of an approved information collection. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Secretary of Commerce has the responsibility for the conservation and management of marine fishery resources. Much of this responsibility has been delegated to the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). Under this stewardship role, the Secretary was given certain regulatory authorities to ensure the most beneficial uses of these resources. One of the regulatory steps taken to care out the conservation and management objectives is to collect information from users of the resources. This collection requires limited access mackerel and longfin squid/butterfish moratorium permit holders to bring all catch aboard the vessel and make it available for sampling by an observer. If a catch is not made available to an observer before discard, that catch is defined as slippage, and the vessel operator must complete a “Released Catch Affidavit” form within 48 hours of the end of the fishing trip which details why catch was slipped, estimates the quantity and species composition of the slipped catch, and records the time and location of the slipped catch. This collection also requires any vessel with a limited access mackerel permit intending to land over 20,000 lb of mackerel to contact NMFS at least 48 hours in advance of a fishing trip to request an observer. Vessels currently contact NMFS via phone, and selection notices or waivers are issued by NMFS via VMS. If service providers are unable to provide coverage, an owner, operator, or vessel manager may request a waiver by calling the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program. Additionally, if a fishing trip is cancelled, vessels must notify NMFS of the cancelled trip to prevent observers from being deployed to a cancelled trip.

The latest form for Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Amendment 14 Data Collection expires 2029-02-28 and can be found here.

Pre-Trip Notification to Observer Program

Federal Enterprise Architecture: Natural Resources - Water Resource Management