Notification, Reporting, and Monitoring Requirements for the Atlantic Mackerel Fishery

General Requirements

Limited Access Permits

If you are an owner/operator of a vessel issued a limited access (Tier 1, 2, or 3) Atlantic mackerel permit, you must:

• Notify NOAA Fisheries at least 48 hours prior to beginning any trip on which you intend to harvest, possess, or land more than 20,000 lb of mackerel to be considered for observer coverage.
  • For mackerel trips that will be catching and retaining herring or groundfish: Notify via the pre-trip notification system (PTNS ).
    • Login to the PTNS using your FishOnline Username and FishOnline Password.
    • Enter PTNS notifications up to, but no more than, 10 days in advance of your desired sail date and time.
    • Call the PTNS Help Desk at (855) FISHES-1 if you need assistance or have questions or visit the PTNS Help Tab .
  • For mackerel trips that will not be catching and retaining herring: Notify by calling the Fisheries Monitoring and Operations Branch at 508-989-5319.
• Carry a NOAA Fisheries-certified observer to satisfy Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) coverage requirements if selected for coverage by NOAA Fisheries.
• Declare your trip via the vessel monitoring system (VMS) prior to leaving port if you intend to harvest, possess, or land over 20,000 lb of mackerel on that trip.
  • A vessel declares into the mackerel fishery using the squid, mackerel, butterfish (SMB) plan code and a mackerel trip (MAC, MAH, MAS, MHS) program code.
  • A vessel may also declare into the mackerel fishery by indicating that it is retaining mackerel when participating in the Atlantic herring (HER plan code, HMS program code) or squid fisheries (SMB plan code; IHM, LHM, SCM, SHM, SIM or SLM program codes).
  • For more information and to see a complete list of VMS reporting codes, please see the VMS Declaration Glossary linked in the "Northeast (Greater Atlantic Region)" section of the Regional VMS information page .
• Submit a daily VMS catch report for each day (0000-2400 hr) of a declared mackerel trip by 0900 hr of the following day.
  • VMS catch reports must include total pounds of mackerel caught (kept and discarded) and total pounds of all fish kept.
• Notify NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) via VMS of the time and place of offloading at least 6 hours prior to landing if you intend to land more than 20,000 lb of mackerel.
  • If fishing ends less than 6 hours before landing, submit your pre-landing notification immediately upon leaving the fishing grounds.
• Submit an electronic vessel trip report (eVTR) within 48 hours of the end of each fishing trip.
  • Vessel trip reports must be filled out with all ascertainable information, including catch estimates, before entering port.
  • eVTRs must be submitted for every fishing trip, regardless of where your vessel fished (state or federal waters) or what species was being fished for or caught.
  • eVTRs are required even if no fish were caught or landed on a trip.

Open Access Permits

If you are an owner/operator of a vessel issued an open access (Category 4) Atlantic mackerel permit, you must:

• Submit an eVTR within 48 hours of the end of each fishing trip.
  • Vessel trip reports must be filled out with all ascertainable information, including catch estimates, before entering port.
  • eVTRs must be submitted for every fishing trip, regardless of where your vessel fished (state or federal waters) or what species was being fished for or caught.
  • eVTRs are required even if no fish were caught or landed on a trip.

Letters of Authorization (LOA)

If you are an owner/operator of a vessel issued an Atlantic mackerel permit and you wish to fish with purse seine or midwater trawl gear in the Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Exemption Area , you must:

• Obtain the appropriate midwater trawl or purse seine gear exempted fishery LOA before beginning any trip fishing with midwater trawl or purse seine gear.
• LOA applications are submitted through your Fish Online account.

Slippage Requirements

Slipping catch is defined as discarding catch from a vessel that is carrying an observer prior to the catch being brought on board, or prior to the catch being made available for sampling and inspection by an observer.

Vessels issued a limited access (Tier 1, 2, or 3) Atlantic mackerel permit may not slip catch , except in the following circumstances:

• There is a compelling safety reason.
• A mechanical failure prevents some or all of the catch from being brought on board the vessel for sampling and inspection.
• Pumping becomes impossible as a result of spiny dogfish clogging the pump intake. The vessel operator shall take reasonable measures, such as strapping and splitting the net, to remove all fish that can be pumped from the net prior to release

If your vessel slips catch for any other reason, you must immediately terminate your trip and return to port. No fishing activity may occur on the way to port.

If you are an owner/operator of a vessel issued a limited access (Tier 1, 2, or 3) Atlantic mackerel permit that slips catch for an allowable reason, you must :

• Move at least 15 nm from the location of the slippage event before deploying gear again.
• Stay at least 15 nm from the location of the slippage event for the remainder of the trip.

If you are an owner/operator of a vessel issued a limited access (Tier 1, 2, or 3) Atlantic mackerel permit that slips catch (either allowable or non-allowable), you must :

• Report that catch was slipped and the reason for slippage on the VMS catch report for each day (0000-2400 hr) by 0900 hr of the following day.
• Complete a released catch affidavit form . The completed form must be mailed to the Sustainable Fisheries Division at the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office within 48 hours of the end of the fishing trip.
• The released catch affidavit must detail:
  • Why catch was slipped;
  • An estimate of the quantity and species composition of the slipped catch; and
  • The time and location of the slipped catch.

Contact Information

If you have regulatory questions, please contact Maria Fenton at [email protected] or (978) 281-9196.

If you need technical support or assistance, please call the following numbers:

• PTNS - (855) 347-4371.
• Fish Online - (978) 281-9188.
• VMS Reporting - (978) 281-9213.
• IVR Reporting - (508) 945-5961 .
• VTR Reporting - (978) 282-8418.
• Regulations - (978) 281-9315.
• Permits - (978) 282-8438.