NOAA Fisheries Update: Court of Appeals Decision on the Gulf of Mexico Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting Program Lawsuit

This messaged is provided as a courtesy:

ISSUE DATE: March 3, 2022 FB23-013

CONTACT: Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting Program, 1-833-707-1632, [email protected]

On February 23, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit set aside the final rule implementing the Southeast For-Hire Integrated Electronic Reporting Program (SEFHIER) in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf). This means the Gulf program is currently not in effect. The ruling does not affect the South Atlantic SEFHIER program.

For further information, please see the frequently asked questions below.

Questions and Answers:

1. What does this mean for current participants of the Gulf SEFHIER Program?

For Gulf SEFHIER participants:

You may leave on trips without submitting a Gulf SEFHIER hail-out.
You may land at any location and are no longer restricted to SEFHIER pre-approved landing locations.
After returning from a fishing trip, you do not have to submit a logbook through an app or the VMS unit, unless you are part of the Southeast Region Headboat Survey program.
You may turn off or remove your VMS unit without submitting a Power Down Exemption, unless you have a Commercial Reef Fish permit.
You will no longer be approached by SEFHIER Validation Survey samplers.

The Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) dockside sampling program is not affected by this ruling. NOAA Fisheries continues to encourage participation in the MRIP program as these data inform the assessment and management of Gulf stocks.

If you are a Gulf Southeast Region Headboat Survey participant, please see Question 2 for more information.

If you are a Gulf commercial reef fish participant, please see Question 5 for more information.

2. What are the current reporting requirements if I have a Gulf for-hire permit and I participate in the Southeast Region Headboat Survey (SRHS)?

If your vessel has been selected to report to the SRHS, the reporting requirements have reverted back to the requirements prior to the SEFHIER program. This means that unless otherwise notified by NOAA Fisheries, trip level reports must be submitted weekly (reporting week is Monday-Sunday), by the following Sunday after the reporting week. SRHS vessels are no longer required to have a VMS, hail-out, or land at a pre-approved landing location.

3. What are the current reporting requirements if I have an Atlantic/South Atlantic federal for-hire permit?

Electronic reporting requirements for vessels with Atlantic/South Atlantic federal for-hire permit(s) (Atlantic coastal migratory pelagic species, Atlantic dolphin and wahoo, or South Atlantic snapper-grouper) remain unchanged. The software applications used to report logbooks were used by both the Gulf and Atlantic/South Atlantic, therefore those applications will continue to be used in the Atlantic/South Atlantic.

4. What are the reporting requirements if I have both a Gulf and Atlantic/South Atlantic federal for-hire permit?

Federally permitted vessels with both Gulf and Atlantic/South Atlantic for-hire permits that have been reporting under the Gulf requirements must now report under the Atlantic/South Atlantic reporting requirements. Atlantic/South Atlantic reporting requirements include, weekly trip level reporting through an approved vendor (reporting week is Monday-Sunday), trip-level logbooks for any for-hire fishing trip due by the Tuesday following the reporting week, and a Did Not Fish report in place of the logbook if no fishing occurred within the fishing week. For more information on Atlantic/South Atlantic reporting requirements, see the link below to the South Atlantic Compliance Guide.

5. If I have a Gulf for-hire and a Gulf commercial reef fish permit, what do I report?

Federal Gulf for-hire permitted vessels that also hold a Gulf commercial reef fish permit must continue to abide by commercial reef fish reporting requirements, but are not required to comply with the Gulf for-hire VMS or electronic logbook reporting requirements.

6. Will there be any further action or guidance from NOAA Fisheries in response to the 5th Circuit Court Decision in the Gulf for-hire reporting litigation?

NOAA Fisheries is reviewing the Court ruling and will provide further guidance if appropriate. NOAA Fisheries intends to discuss the Court ruling with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council during their upcoming meeting April 3-6, 2023.

Helpful Program Information and Useful Links:

SEFHIER customer service phone number: 1-833-707-1632 (M-F, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., ET) and email: [email protected].
For any federally permitted Atlantic/South Atlantic for-hire vessel, including dual for-hire Gulf and Atlantic/South Atlantic federally permitted vessels, please refer to our South Atlantic Compliance Guide for an overview of the reporting requirements.
Please see the approved reporting application vendors for federally permitted Atlantic/South Atlantic for-hire vessels.

Visit the Southeast Fisheries Permits application website and application status website for permit application information, or call the Permits Office at 1-877-376-4877 and press option 8 to get to Permits staff.