NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
August 15, 2005
Dave Ackley
(907) 586-7010
GOLDEN KING CRAB FISHERY KICKS OFF NEW REPORTING SYSTEM
The Aleutian Island's Western and Eastern golden king crab fisheries, which opened August 15, will serve as pilot fisheries for a brand new electronic fishing data reporting system, according to federal and state fishery managers in Alaska.
The new system moves Alaska fisheries reporting into the modern era, leaving behind paper fish tickets and consolidating the reporting requirements of NOAA Fisheries (National Marine Fisheries Service), the State of Alaska Department of Fish and Game and also of the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
"Once we've switched over, reporting will be more efficient, more accurate and probably less expensive," said Sue Salveson, Acting Regional Administrator of NOAA Fisheries for Alaska. "The new system is intended to remove reporting duplications, making life more straight-forward for fishermen, processors, and managers."
"Up to now, we have relied upon carbon copies to report harvests worth billions of dollars from Alaska's fisheries," said David Bedford, Deputy Commissioner at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Given technological advancements, it seems both timely and appropriate that we move from carbon copies to computers to assist us in collecting this important data."
Bristol Bay red king crab, Bering Sea snow (opilio) crab, Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab, Pribilof Islands red and blue king crab, St. Matthew blue king crab, and western Aleutian Island red king crab fisheries will also eventually come into the new electronic reporting system.
Plans are underway to expand the new electronic reporting system in 2006 to include reported data collected in the Alaska federal and state groundfish fisheries, and in the halibut fishery.
NOAA Fisheries, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the International Pacific Halibut Commission, consultants and fish processors all had a hand in designing the new system.
For more information, please:
Visit elandings.alaska.gov on the internet
or e-mail elandings@alaska.gov
or phone (888) 443-5726 or (800) 304-4846, option 2.
NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is dedicated to protecting and preserving our nation's living marine resources through scientific research, management, enforcement, and the conservation of marine mammals and other protected marine species and their habitat. To learn more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, please visit our website at www.fakr.noaa.gov