NOAA Fisheries News Releases
NEWS RELEASE
December 16, 2003
Josh Keaton
(907) 586-7519
Electronic Fisheries Reporting Workshops Scheduled
The Alaska Region of NOAA Fisheries has scheduled January workshops in Kodiak and Dutch Harbor on electronic reporting procedures for shoreside processors.
"When we know more accurately and quickly how many fish are caught, we can do a better job of managing the fishing fleet as it approaches the total allowable catch," said NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region Administrator Jim Balsiger. "We would like to improve the overall speed and accuracy of the electronic reporting from our shoreside processors."
"This is a great opportunity to cross-train current office staff and train new office staff in the requirements and procedures of electronically reporting on the catch that is delivered," said Josh Keaton, NOAA Fisheries' inseason manager, who will be leading the workshop. He explained that electronic reporting more efficiently tracks how many fish are delivered to processing plants and how those fish are processed.
The Kodiak training sessions, organized with the help of Julie Bonney of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, will take place in Kodiak on January 8 from 9:00 until 12:00 at the Kodiak Island Borough Near Island Research Center. That afternoon and the following day are set aside for individual appointments for those who would like to work face-to-face with Keaton on electronic reporting.
Dutch Harbor sessions are set for January 16 from 9:00 until 1:00 in the Grand Aleutian Hotel. The afternoon of January 16 plus January 17 are set aside for individual appointments. If weather shuts down travel to Dutch Harbor for the initial workshop, an alternate date of January 19 has been set up, with individual sessions to follow on January 20. Sessions are planned, but not yet scheduled in fishing communities in Southeast and South Central Alaska in the early spring.
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. For more about NOAA Fisheries in Alaska, please visit www.fakr.noaa.gov