At-Sea Monitoring Program Manual
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06/11 AT-SEA MONITORING PROGRAM MANUAL U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center Fisheries Sampling Branch 166 Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543 NORTHEAST FISHERIES AT-SEA MONITORING PROGRAM MANUAL 3rd EDITION JUNE, 2011 i 06/11 PAPER REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT Information collected through the At-sea Monitoring Program will be used to: (1) monitor catch and bycatch; (2) understand the population status and trends of fish stocks and protected species, as well as the interactions between them; (3) determine the quantity and distribution of net benefits derived from living marine resources; (4) predict the biological, ecological, and economic impacts of existing management actions and proposed management options; and (5) ensure that the At-sea Monitoring Program can safely and efficiently collect the information required for the previous four uses. In particular, the At-sea Monitoring Program provides information that is used in analyses that support the conservation and management of living marine resources and that are required under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), Executive Order 12866 (EO 12866), and other applicable law. Most of the information collected by at-sea monitors is obtained through “direct observation by an employee or agent of the sponsoring agency or through non-standardized oral communication in connection with such direct observations". Under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) regulations at 5 C.F.R. 1320.3(h) (3), facts or opinions obtained through such observations and communications are not considered to be "information" subject to the PRA. The public reporting burden for responding to the questions that at-sea monitors ask and that are subject to the PRA is estimated to average 74 minutes per trip, including the time for hearing and understanding the questions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. However, depending on the fishery and trip duration, the public reporting burden can range from 4-250 minutes per trip. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Amy Van Atten, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Northeast Fisheries At-sea Monitoring Program, 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1026. Providing the requested information is mandatory under regulations at 50 C.F.R. 600.746 for the safety questions and at 50 C.F.R. §600.725, §600.746, §648.11; 16 U.S.C. 1387 §118; 16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq., 16 U.S.C. 742a §222 for the other questions. All information collected by at-sea monitors will be kept confidential as required under Section 402(b) of the MSA (18 U.S.C. 1881a (b)) and regulations at 50 C.F.R. Part 600, Subpart E. Notwithstanding any other provision of the law, no person is required to respond to, nor shall any person be subject to a penalty for failure to comply with a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act, unless that collection of information displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. This is an approved information collection under OMB Control No. 0648-0593 through 09/30/2012. ii 06/11 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAPER REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii INTRODUCTION TO AT-SEA MONITORING 1-12 iPAQ ELECTRONIC REPORTING 13-23 GENERAL iPAQ OVERVIEW 13 Basic iPAQ Operations 13 Battery Power 20 Tips on Using SectorASM Program 20 Deleting Zip Files 22 Deleting Trip Data 23 CalPos: Statistical Area and LORAN Conversion 23 REPORTING SectorASM DATA 24-96 Trip Tab 24 More Trip Tab 27 Common Warnings and Errors 29 Gear Tab 31-56 Trawl Gear 31 Common Warnings and Errors 39 Gillnet Gear 41 Common Warnings and Errors 45 Longline Gear 48 Common Warnings and Errors 51 Multi Gear 53 Same Gear Category 53 Different Gear Categories 55 Haul Tab 57-73 Haul Begin 60 Haul End 61 Haul Species 62 Haul Length 64 Common Warnings and Errors 67 Gillnet More Haul Tab 70 Longline More Haul Tab 72 Incidental Take Tab 74-80 Common Warnings and Errors 79 Individual Animal Log (IAL) Tab 81-88 Common Warnings and Errors 86 iii 06/11 Cost Tab 89-92 Common Warnings and Errors 91 Trip End Tab 93-96 Common Warnings and Errors 95 CREATING A ZIP FILE 97-99 UPLOADING DATA 100-106 PC Users 100 Wireless Users 101 Uploading Data Instructions 103 DIGITAL CAMERA PROTOCOLS 107-130 Confidentiality 107 General Camera Use 107 Photograph Protocols 107 Incidental Takes: Marine Mammals 109 Incidental Takes: Sea Turtles 114 Incidental Takes: Sea Birds 118 Individual Animals: Sharks 120 Individual Animals: Sturgeon 122 Uploading Pictures 124 Naming Convention with Examples 125 Transferring Photos to the iPAQ 129 Accessing Photos on the iPAQ 130 Renaming Photo Files 130 BIOLOGICAL SAMPLING PROTOCOLS 131-143 INCIDENTAL TAKE SAMPLING PROTOCOLS 144-170 Marine Mammals 144 Sea Turtles 146 Resuscitation Guidelines 150 Quick Reference Sea Turtle ID Guide 153 Turtle Stranding Contact Information 157 Sea Birds 158 Animal Condition Descriptions 161 Dead, Fresh 161 Dead, Moderate 165 Dead, Severely Decomposed 168 PAPER LOGS and REPORTING PROTOCOLS 171-348 ORDER OF PAPER LOGS 171 HEADER INSTRUCTIONS 172 iv 06/11 Marine Safety Information 174-187 SAFETY CHECKLIST Safety Checklist Instructions 188 Safety Checklist with Field Numbers 193 Safety Checklist Example 195 Safety Checklist 197 EPIRB VERIFICATION Inspection Card (EVIC) EVIC Instructions 199 EVIC Card 200 TRIP LOG (includes Trip, More Trip, Cost, and Trip End) Trip Log Instructions 201 Trip Log with Field Numbers 202 Trip Log Example 204 Trip Log 206 Gillnet Gear Information and Background 208-212 GILLNET GEAR LOG Gillnet Gear Log Instructions 213 Gillnet Gear Log with Field Numbers 216 Gillnet Gear Log Example 217 Gillnet Gear Log 218 GILLNET HAUL LOG Gillnet Haul Log Instructions 219 Gillnet Haul Log with Field Numbers 226 Gillnet Haul Log Example 227 Gillnet Haul Log 228 Trawl Gear Information and Background 229-232 TRAWL GEAR LOG Trawl Gear Log Instructions 233 Trawl Gear Log with Field Numbers 241 Trawl Gear Log Example 242 Trawl Gear Log 243 TRAWL HAUL LOG Trawl Haul Log Instructions 244 Trawl Haul Log with Field Numbers 251 Trawl Haul Log Example 252 Trawl Haul Log 253 v 06/11 Longline Gear Information and Background 254-257 LONGLINE GEAR LOG Longline Gear Log Instructions 258 Longline Gear Log with Field Numbers 261 Longline Gear Log Example 262 Longline Gear Log 263 LONGLINE HAUL LOG Longline Haul Log Instructions 270 Longline Haul Log with Field Numbers 271 Longline Haul Log Example 272 Longline Haul Log 273 INDIVIDUAL ANIMAL LOG Individual Animal Log Instructions 274 Individual Animal Log with Field Numbers 279 Individual Animal Log Example 280 Individual Animal Log 281 Catch Estimation Information and Background 282-310 Catch Estimation Document Terms 283 Calculations 285 Guidelines and Methods 286 Methodologies 288 Subsamples 290 Guidelines for Working the Catch 294 Calulating using Volume-to-Volume 296 Special Scenarios 300 Conveyor Belts 300 Deckloading 302 Flooding the Fish Bin 302 Overflowing Catches 303 Potential Bias: Problems and Solutions 306 Random Sampling Guidleines 307 Area and Volume Calculations (cheatsheet) 309 CATCH ESTIMATION WORKSHEET Catch Estimation Worksheet Instructions 311 Catch Estimation with Field Numbers 317 Catch Estimation Example 318 Catch Estimation Worksheet 319 Photographing Protocols for Catch Estimation Worksheets 320 vi 06/11 LENGTH FREQUENCY LOG Length Frequency Log Instructions 323 Length Frequency Log with Field Numbers 325 Length Frequency Log Example 326 Length Frequency Log 327 INCIDENTAL TAKE LOG Incidental Take Log Instructions 328 Incidental Take Log with Field Numbers 333 Incidental Take Log Example 335 Incidental Take Log 336 FISHERMEN’S COMMENT LOG Fishermen’s Comment Log Instructions 338 Fishermen’s Comment Log with Field Numbers 340 Fishermen’s Comment Log Example 341 Fishermen’s Comment Log 342 DISCARD LOG Discard Log Instructions 343 Discard Log with Field Numbers 346 Discard Log Example 347 Discard Log 348 APPENDICES A. Species Names and Corresponding Tabs/Logs A. 1 B. Fish Disposition Codes A. 16 C. Port List A. 18 D. Gear Codes and Gear Names A. 32 E. Gear Conditions Codes and Gear Condition Description A. 33 F. Charts 1. Overview of the Northeast Statistical Areas A. 35 2. Chart Area of the Gulf of Maine A. 36 3. Chart Area of Georges Bank A. 37 4. Chart Area for US/CAN Area and SAPs A. 38 5. Chart Area of Southern New England A. 39 G. At-sea Monitor/Trip Identifier Instructions A. 40 vii 06/11 H. Vernier Caliper Instructions A. 41 I. Net Name and Net Type A. 43 J. Dealer List A. 47 K. Weather Conditions and Beaufort Force Wind Scale A. 64 L. Field Diary A. 67 M. General Conversions A. 70 N. At-Sea Monitoring Program Standards A. 71 O. Species Verification Program A. 80 Memorandum to At-sea Monitors P. Mandatory Gear Requirements and Maintenance A. 82 Q. Alternate Species Names A. 86 Glossary A. 93 viii INTRODUCTION 06/11 Fisheries Sampling Branch U.S. Department of Commerce/NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center 166 Water Street Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 Introduction to At-Sea Monitoring The Fisheries Sampling Branch collects processes and manages data and biological samples obtained during commercial fishing trips. These data are collected by trained observers and at-sea monitors for scientific and fisheries management purposes. Data from observed trips are required under many of the region's fishery management plans, and for some fisheries by federal laws and statutes including the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, the and the Sustainable Fisheries Act.