A project underway at Cornell Cooperative Extension Suffolk County will prepare hundreds of for-hire fishermen in New York to transition from paper-based trip reports to newly mandated electronic reporting.
Fishermen hailing from the Northeast states between Maine and North Carolina have long been required to submit paper Vessel Trip Reports (VTRs) related to their fishing efforts. VTRs enable fishery managers to track what was caught, where it was caught, what gear types were used and where it was sold. Electronic vessel trip reporting has been an approved method of vessel trip report submission in the Northeast since 2011, but had been voluntary.
Exploring electronic technologies (ET) when developing new and/or improving existing fishery-dependent data collection programs is important to fishery managers in the region including the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC). The NOAA Fisheries ET Policy Directive on Electronic Technologies and Fishery-Dependent Data Collection (2021) encourages the consideration of ET to complement and/or improve existing data collection programs to achieve the most cost effective and sustainable approach that ensures alignment of management goals, data needs, funding sources, and regulations. To achieve this directive, NOAA Fisheries encourages all fishery stakeholders to consider implementing ET options, where appropriate, to meet science, management, and compliance data needs.
According to NOAA’s Fisheries Electronic Technology Implementation Plan (2021), the 2021-2025 vision of ET necessitates that all fishery-dependent data collection programs fully transition to electronic data collection and processing systems in order to ensure data content, quality, integrity, and traceability. Many of the regional data collection programs have already transitioned to electronic data collections, including seafood dealer reporting and biological sampling. Use of eVTR is recommended in this vision for a number of important reasons, including One Stop Reporting for dual-permitted entities; integration with Pre-Trip Notification System for Universal Trip Identifier generation and transmission; and developing a modernized eVTR database model that has the flexibility to address a wide range of requirements including: customized logbooks, better support of One Stop Reporting requirements, and the ability to quickly adapt to ever changing reporting requirements.
Data collection programs which rely on paper-based reporting can be costly and lacks the flexibility to adapt to highly dynamic fishery management and monitoring needs. Demand for more timely and frequent data has increased in response to required state and federal fisheries quota monitoring, and the need for more efficiently integrated regional fishery-dependent data streams will allow for informed management decisions. To improve ET in NY, the NYSDEC recently implemented mandatory electronic vessel trip reporting for NY state permitted for-hire (party and charter) fishermen, requiring these fishermen to submit their VTRs electronically as eVTRs, instead of on paper.
Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County has been working with the marine industries of New York for over 30 years. We are one of the only groups on Long Island that works directly with local commercial fishermen, helping to ensure that this unique and historical way of life is preserved. We work with local, state and federal managers to ensure local fishing is sustainable. In coordination with New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), NY Marine Resources Advisory Council (MRAC), Atlantic Coast Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) and Electronic Technology (ET) specialists, CCE was funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program to conduct an outreach and training initiative targeted at New York fishermen.
The Project
This project will prepare the NY state for-hire fishing fleet for the mandatory electronic VTR reporting that goes into effect on January 1, 2025 and will improve voluntary electronic VTR adoption rates for the NY state commercial fleet with a goal of achieving 50% electronic reporting rates. CCE will provide support, training, education and outreach as well as technology in the form of free iPads to fishermen for use with existing electronic reporting programs to incentivize and support fisheries-dependent data reporting, which will result in improved fishery management and conservation. CCE will facilitate the switch from paper-based trip reporting to electronic reporting through ACCSP’s Standard Atlantic Fisheries Information System (SAFIS) eTRIPS/mobile app.
The NYSDEC will provide CCE with a list of all for-hire and commercial permit holders in NY to target for electronic reporting activities. CCE will purchase 188 iPads to be distributed to NY fishermen. These 188 iPads will have ACCSP’s eTRIPS Mobile (eTRIPS/m) application installed. This is sufficient to outfit the entire NY for-hire party/charter fleet to support and incentivize the fleet to conform with mandatory reporting requirements. By identifying and enlisting the entire for-hire fleet, we will ensure that this program maximizes its impact and aims to capture 100% of the for-hire landings to be reported electronically. Remaining iPads will be distributed to the commercial fleet to voluntarily adopt electronic reporting. Additionally, fishermen will be trained to enter VTRs electronically utilizing their own devices. A total of 340 fishermen are targeted to be trained on electronic reporting procedures. In order to document their commitment to the program, captains will be required to fill out a Participation Authorization Memorandum and Compliance Agreement to receive an iPad through this project.
To facilitate the shift from a paper-based system to an electronic-based data collection system on a large scale, CCE will coordinate with NY fishermen, NYSDEC, and ACCSP for a series of extensive training workshops at various ports to engage and educate fishermen about the use and benefits of the user-friendly programs. Training for the for-hire and commercial fleets will be conducted in both group settings and in one-on-one sessions to demonstrate the use and handling of the provided equipment and web application. CCE will provide initial and on-going training and support for the 188 fishermen outfitted with iPads in the use of eTRIPS/m to advance the initiatives of the ET Implementation Plan. These training sessions will also include fishermen using their personal devices for electronic reporting purposes. We expect to train a minimum of 340 fishermen.
No-cost training presentations will be held at Long Island libraries and public facilities in coastal communities close to fishing ports from New York City to Montauk. This will include ports with high party/charter fishing activity including Captree, Montauk, Port Jefferson, Freeport, Orient, Brooklyn, etc. Trainings will also be held at the CCE facility in Riverhead, NY and NYSDEC building in King’s Park, NY. Trainings will be held during scheduled captain’s meetings for local fishing associations. This includes meetings of the Captree Boatman’s Association, North Fork Captain’s Association and Montauk Boatman’s Association. Trainings will occur approximately twice per month leading up to mandatory reporting. Training presentations will include background, NYSDEC reporting requirements, App installation, logging in, setting up “favorites”, starting trip, entering trip details (including gear, effort, catch, offloading catch), sign and submit, gear field definitions, special reporting requirement (striped bass, blackfish), did not fish reports, installing updates, help desk info, CCE staff contact info, and office hours info. The NYSDEC has special reporting requirements for striped bass and blackfish. Fishermen are allocated a certain number of tags for these species based on their fishing history. All striped bass and blackfish are required to be tagged prior to sale and commercial fishermen must individually report each fish with the tag number and weight of each fish into the eVTR system. CCE will coordinate and publicize group training sessions with NYSDEC, ACCSP, ASMFC, MRAC and project partners. CCE has created and conducted these presentations for previous NFWF-funded projects which provides efficiency and cost savings to the proposed project.
CCE staff will also conduct one-on-one training sessions to address the unique needs of each fisherman on an as-needed basis. Different levels of comfort with technology can impact how quickly fishermen understand how to use the application. These individual trainings will be conducted in-person or remotely
The Industry
CCE will focus mainly on the NY state for-hire (party/charter) fishery for which electronic reporting will be mandatory in 2025. Currently there are 536 party/charter permit holders, with 137 currently submitting paper reports only. CCE will also assist with voluntary adoption of electronic reporting by NYS commercial fishermen representative of the overall fishing fleet (i.e., gear type, vessel size, etc.).
Benefits of Modernization
Shifting from paper-based to electronic VTRs will yield significant improvement in both the accuracy and timeliness of data.
- Reduces data entry and transcription errors
- Reduces time spent on contacting fishermen to correct errors
- Use of automated data audits restricts the entry of erroneous or incomplete data
- Greatly improves overall data quality compared to paper reports
Data Availability
- Data submitted through eTRIPS is immediately available to fisheries managers and improves their ability to quickly respond to changes in the fishery
- 48-hour submission deadline would be in line with federal timeline
Scientific Research and Management
- The NY for-hire data to be collected though this project has never been available to ACCSP’s database as a complete dataset
- Improves the quality and value of the data used for management,
- Improves data uses for research and modeling
- Creates opportunities for future advances in biological sampling and development of research fleets
Outcomes
Deploying effective electronic reporting technology coupled with comprehensive training will improve electronic reporting rates for NY fishermen. By the end of the project we hope to achieve:
- 100% electronic reporting for the for-hire fleet
- 50% electronic reporting rate for commercial fleet (currently at 30%)
Helping the for-hire and commercial fleets move to electronic reporting is something CCE is well-qualified for. We look forward to doing so and hope our approach might prove useful to similarly situated organizations both here and abroad. We welcome any questions or comments at sw224@cornell.edu.
“Projects in the Field” is a series of independently produced articles profiling work supported by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s Electronic Monitoring & Reporting Grant Program, and is meant to raise awareness and support for these important initiatives.
