The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will host a focus group on a Shrimp Data Collection Framework Action that aims to transition the federally permitted Gulf shrimp fleet to a new platform for vessel position data collection and transmission. This meeting will be held by webinar on Thursday, October 21, 2021, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, EDT.

The focus group will begin with a review of its charge and objectives. It will then hear an overview of the current cellular electronic logbook (cELB) units’ programming and implementation followed by a presentation of the elements of data from the current cELB units and a review of background information from the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission’s process for data receival, security, and storage. The focus group will also review a comparison of the technical specifications for a Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and of proposed technical specifications. The focus group will then review a case study of South Atlantic rock shrimp VMS data inputted into the Gulf Shrimp effort algorithm. Finally, the focus group will review the Framework Action: Modification of the Vessel Position Data Collection Program for the Gulf of Mexico Shrimp Fishery.

Public comment will be held over the webinar before the meeting adjourns.

Register for the webinar here.

For an agenda and meeting materials, click here.