The Pacific Coast vessel monitoring program consists of
declaration reports and a vessel monitoring system. The
declaration reports are reports given by fishermen before
a fishing trip to identify the vessel operator’s
intent to fish within an RCA, which gear type will be used
for fishing, and which fishery they are participating in.
Declaration reports are only necessary for fisheries that
are allowed within a closed area and before a vessel intends
to fish. The vessel monitoring system (VMS) consists of
equipment that tracks a vessel’s geographic position
through a satellite communication system. A VMS transceiver
unit is installed aboard the vessel that communicates via
a satellite to a processing center. For the Pacific Coast
program, a basic VMS system with 1-way communication will
be used to track vessel activity in relation to closed
areas within 200 nautical miles along the Pacific coast.
Why does the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery need a
Vessel Monitoring Program?
A vessel monitoring program is an enforcement tool that
can be used to monitor compliance with areas closed to
fishing. On the Pacific Coast, a vessel monitoring program
is being implemented to monitor compliance with groundfish
conservation areas. The groundfish conservation areas
include Rockfish Conservation Areas (RCAs), Cowcod Conservation
Areas (CCAs), and the Yelloweye Rockfish Conservation
Area (YRCA). RCAs are large-scale, depth-based areas
along the Pacific coast where commercial and recreational
fishing for groundfish is prohibited or restricted. RCAs
were created so that fishing for healthy groundfish stocks
could continue in areas and with gears where there is
lower incidental catch of overfished groundfish species.
CCAs are areas in southern California where fishing has
been restricted to protect cowcod, an overfished species.
The YRCA is an area to be avoided, or voluntary closure,
for commercial fishermen. The YRCA is located off the
northern Washington Coast and is designed to protect
yelloweye rockfish, an overfisherd species. Over time,
the groundfish conservation areas will likely change.
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries)
will keep the fishing fleet informed as these changes
are made.
Reports and other useful VMS information:
Declaration Report
Exemption Report
Installation & Activation
Report
Rockfish Closure Areas (RCAs)
Type Approved Vendors
Join the VMS email list to receive public notices electronically
by sending an email to: westcoastgroundfish@noaa.gov
