The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Council (WPRFC) is preparing to implement electronic monitoring on all commercial longline fishing vessels by 2027.
At the March meeting of the WPRFC’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) outlined its plan to begin phasing in electronic monitoring to the U.S. longline fleet. According to the office, regulators plan to have all 161 Hawai’i and American Samoan longline vessels outfitted with electronic monitoring systems by 2027.
At the same time, the office expects to reduce human observer coverage due to budget constraints.
While PIRO plans to begin transitioning the fleet with available funding, it admitted that fishers may need to share the costs, such as paying to replace the camera system every three years. According to a press release, SSC members raised concerns over the idea of pushing any costs onto fishers and maintain that NOAA Fisheries should pick up the costs of electronic monitoring.
“These fisheries already operate on slim profit margins,” SSC member Alister Hunt said in a statement. “The federal agency is presumably saving costs by shifting from observers to EM, which is a good thing, so why place that burden on fishermen?”
SSC plans to continue evaluating how it will implement electronic monitoring with a focus on long-term success, according to a press release.
“While the immediate focus might be to implement an EM program, it is critical to think about where you want the program to be in 10 years and to plan for that now in the design phase,” SSC member Shelton Harley said. “A good example of this is ensuring that EM data are easily integrated with other data sources, such as logbooks and vessel monitoring data.”
The council plans to take initial action on a proposed amendment in June 2025.
