US Alaska Pollock Trawl EM Program
The US Alaska Pollock Trawl electronic monitoring program evaluates EM as a cost-effective alternative to at-sea observers, improving compliance monitoring and data quality for pollock fisheries, with data processing coordinated by the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
March 22, 2021
The Alaska Pollock Trawl EM program operates under an exempted fishery permit (EFP) allowing the use of EM as a substitute for human at-sea observers on 30 midwater trawl vessels fishing in the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska pollock fisheries. This EM program is split between federally funded (via grants) and industry funded (directly from participants). This project is intended to evaluate the feasibility and cost-efficiency of using EM systems to monitor compliance with retention (salmon bycatch) and discard (groundfish) regulations, while improving data quality and timeliness in these fisheries. Archipelago provides equipment and field support services to the fishing industry. EM services to industry comprise providing equipment, installation, technical support and implementing changes and improvements geared towards increasing data quality. EM data is processed by Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC).
