Eric Olson, Chairman
Chris Oliver, Executive Director
SUBJECT: Title
Observers for Tendering - Preliminary Review
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ESTIMATED TIME:
2 hours (12 hours for all observer items C2, C3 and C4)
ACTION REQUIRED: Recommended Action
Preliminary review of proposed regulatory amendment to the Observer Program to deploy observers on tender vessels
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BACKGROUND:
At the December 2013 meeting, the Council initiated a regulatory amendment to change the deployment of observers on catcher vessels in the partial coverage observer category while delivering to tender vessels. The Council initiated the amendment package based on information in the 2014 Annual Deployment Plan (ADP), which identified that tender activity in the GOA may represent an important source of variance and/or bias in catch data from the partial coverage category. Specifically, the analysis considers deploying observers for catcher vessels from tenders, and allowing catcher vessel observers to monitor deliveries on tenders.
The analysis has been scheduled for preliminary review at the June 2014 Council meeting. In the course of preparing the analysis for this meeting, staff has determined that rather than present the document in the form of an incomplete initial review draft, it will be more effective to structure it more like a discussion paper, and highlight the topics where the Council could provide policy guidance that will help streamline the analysis. The document also provides some of the preliminary analytical information on tender vessels and safety considerations, which will be included in the complete initial review draft.
The Observer Advisory Committee is meeting on May 28-29, 2014, and their recommendations on the Annual Report will be distributed at the meeting.