For Immediate Release
August 1, 2023
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold three virtual public hearings to solicit public comments on a Generic Amendment being developed in conjunction with the South Atlantic Council to require federal commercial permit holders to submit coastal logbooks electronically, rather than mailing paper logbooks. These changes would impact commercial Reef Fish and Coastal Migratory Pelagic permit holders in the Gulf of Mexico. Changes only apply to the commercial coastal logbooks and do not impact individual fishing quota (IFQ) reporting requirements.
The Southeast Commercial Coastal Logbook Program collects information on commercial catch and effort of federally managed species. Data collected through this program provide essential information required to monitor harvest and inform stock assessments. If approved, the transition to electronic reporting would only change the mechanism with which reports are submitted. As a result of this transition, there would be minor modifications to the data fields to properly integrate information collected with the existing database. Southeast Fisheries Science Center will present a demonstration of the electronic reporting software and be available to answer technical questions.
Virtual public hearings, which will include a brief introduction to the proposed reporting methods and an opportunity to ask questions and provide public comment, will be held at the following dates and times:
12:00 PM EDT
August 23, 2023
6:00 PM EDT
August 29, 2023
10:00 AM EDT
August 30, 2023
Read the draft document here.
Register and join the virtual hearings here.