Whats been done so far for commercial fishermen?
The ACCSP is being designed in steps because of the number of problems it is trying to address. In the first phase, finished in February 1997, the development teams decided what minimum standard catch, effort, biological, social and economic data needed to be collected. Currently, the teams are investigating how to: • identify all commercial fishermen and fish vessels; • accurately determine the total catch and effort of these fishermen; • monitor quotas in a timely manner; and • collect biological information The technical team recommended a mandatory reporting system that would require all fishermen and dealers to provide standard data and report on a generic data form. The term “dealer” was defined to ensure complete reporting of all commercial landings, including purchase and transport of landings. The technical team recognized that problems exist with large volume fisheries (e.g. lobster and blue crabs) and modifications may be needed to address these fisheries. This system will h
