 |
|
Observer Program Mandate
and Authority
|
| Mission of
the Program |
To document incidental
take of and interactions with marine mammals and seabirds. |
| Fishery management |
State (Alaska Dept. of Fish and
Game). |
| Authority to place observers |
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). |
| Voluntary or mandatory |
Mandatory |
| Funding Source |
Government funded by MMPA funds. |
| Annual Program Costs |
|
| Program duration |
|
|
Fishery Description (This
program was conducted in Cook Inlet in 1999 and 2000.)
|
| Target species |
Sockeye, chum, coho,
pink and chinook salmon. |
| Other commercially landed
species |
None. |
| Bycatch |
Flatfish. |
| Incidental takes |
Marine mammals: harbor porpoise;
Seabirds: common murre, common loon, arctic tern, marbled
murrelet, white-winged scoter. |
| Gear Type |
|
| Area of Operation |
|
| Fleet size |
Drift vessels: 581 issued permits;
Set gillnet: 745 issued permits, approximately 559
were active (1999). |
| Size Range of Vessels |
|
| Annual catch of target
species |
|
| Number of fishing days
per year |
Varies by gear type, target species,
location, and year. In 1999 there were 12 drift gillnet
and 35 set gillnet fishing days. |
| Season of
operation |
Season of operation: Drift: June 25 to end of August.
Set: June to mid-September. |
|
Observer Program Management
|
| Brief
overview of program structure |
Program responsibilities are shared. NMFS set program
objectives and statistical sampling design framework,
and provides coordination, observer gear, data entry
software, and statistical analyses of data. Training
is conducted by the University of Alaska Observer
Training Center (UAOTC) and an independent contractor.
Hiring and deployment of observers, debriefing, and
all associated logistics are provided by a contractor.
This contractor is also responsible for editing,
entering and auditing data using NMFS provided software.
Service delivery type and function of each entity:
NMFS is responsible for program funding, overall sampling
design, observer gear, and data analyses. UAOTC (in
partnership with NMFS and an independent contractor)
is responsible for training. The observer contractor
is responsible for observer recruiting, deployment,
logistics, and delivery of observer data to NMFS. |
| Other participating agencies |
Observer Training Center of the
University of Anchorage; Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game
provides in season catch and escapement data, and post
season catch analyses; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
receives bird incidental catch data. |
| Number of Observers |
|
| Observers Employed by |
-
|
| Average Deployment Length |
-
|
| Average Observer Retention
Rate |
|
| Observers
Unionized |
|
|
Observer Coverage
|
| Average number
of fishing days |
|
| Unit and
definition of fishing effort for purpose of estimating
coverage |
Fishing day = a
day in which a net fished for at least 6 out of 24
hours.
|
| Percent Observer
Coverage |
<5% of total fishing effort
was observed in the Cook Inlet drift and set net fishery
in 1999/2000. In 2000 over 2,600 hours of drift and
set gillnet soaks and hauls were observed. For 1999
and 2000 combined, 4,314 gillnets were observed for
over 5,100 hours of fishing effort. |
|
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