Eric Olson, Chairman
Chris Oliver, Executive Director
SUBJECT:Title
Observer Program Annual Report
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ESTIMATED TIME:
8 hours (12 hours for all observer items C2, C3 and C4)
ACTION REQUIRED: Recommended Action
Review Observer Program Annual Report.
Body
BACKGROUND:
As part of the Council's final motion recommending the restructured Observer Program in October 2010, the Council requested that the agency provide an annual report on the observer program. The May 2014 report (attached) is the first report that assesses a full year of fishing under the new program (in 2013). Among the most important goals for restructuring the Observer Program were to reduce bias and expand observer coverage to a broader range of participants in the groundfish and halibut fisheries. Therefore, the Annual Report for the first year of the restructured program will focus primarily on evaluating how the actual deployment of observers in 2013 compared with planned deployment as described in the 2013 annual deployment plan. In addition, the Annual Report will provide information about other aspects of the program in 2013, including the fee collection program, program costs, contract issues, catch and bycatch estimates, coverage rates, outreach, and enforcement.
The Observer Advisory Committee is meeting on May 28-29, 2014, and their recommendations on the Annual Report will be distributed at the meeting.