Modifications to Charter Vessel and Headboat Electronic Reporting Requirements

saltwater fish caught on charter trip hanging on sign

NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule to modify reporting requirements for the owners or operators of vessels with Charter Vessel/Headboat federal permits for Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish or Gulf coastal migratory pelagics.

WHEN THE RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

The final rule will be effective on January 5, 2021, for the trip declaration and trip level electronic logbook component of the rule. The effective date for the location tracking component of the rule will be announced at a later date.

SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:

The owner or operator of a vessel with a Gulf federal for-hire permit must electronically declare (hail-out) a trip before leaving the dock, berth, beach, seawall, or ramp.
The owner or operator of the vessel must submit an electronic fishing report for each trip prior to offloading fish, or within 30 minutes after the end of the trip if no fish are landed.
The vessel owners or operators must install NOAA Fisheries approved hardware/software with location tracking capabilities that, at a minimum, archives vessel position data and transmits data to NOAA Fisheries. This requirement would not preclude the use of location tracking devices that provide real-time location data or vessel monitoring systems (VMS).
The location tracking portion of the hardware must be installed by a certified installer, permanently affixed to the vessel and turned on at all times, unless a power-down exemption is granted.

**FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER:**

85 FR 44005, published July 21, 2020

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

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