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    • AFSC/FMA/North Pacific Observer Foreign Fishing

    Metadata Updated: April 1, 2024

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began placing observers on foreign fishing vessels operating off the northwest and Alaskan coasts of the United States in 1973, creating the North Pacific Foreign Fisheries Observer Program. Initially, observers were placed on vessels only upon invitation by host countries. In the early years of the program the primary purposes of observers were to determine incidental catch rates of Pacific halibut in groundfish catches and to verify catch statistics in the Japanese crab fishery. Later, observers collected data on the incidence of king crab, snow (Tanner) crab, and Pacific salmon, and obtained biological data on other important species. Following the implementation of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, which mandated that fishery observers be placed on foreign fishing vessels operating within the US 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the Alaska coast of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, observer coverage rapidly expanded. By 1986, the foreign fisheries that were not joint-venture were halted.

    Access & Use Information

    License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

    Downloads & Resources

    Dates

    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2012 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NMFS AFSC

    Other Data Resources

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date February 29, 2024
    Metadata Created Date October 28, 2022
    Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
    Reference Date(s) 2012 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:9556
    Access Constraints Cite As: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: AFSC/FMA/North Pacific Observer Foreign Fishing [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/9556., Access Constraints: Purpose and confidentiality documentation must be on file prior to release of unaggredated catch and effort statistics., Use Constraints: Approved Research and Status of Stocks Analysis
    Bbox East Long -122
    Bbox North Lat 64
    Bbox South Lat 37
    Bbox West Long 175
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update notPlanned
    Harvest Object Id 22bd47da-afa9-4a59-8332-7d9deec3e41a
    Harvest Source Id 26a29bb9-50b0-47fd-920b-edc74aa6ec76
    Harvest Source Title NMFS AFSC
    Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
    Lineage The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began placing observers on foreign fishing vessels operating off the northwest and Alaskan coasts of the United States in 1973, creating the North Pacific Foreign Fisheries Observer Program. Initially, observers were placed on vessels only upon invitation by host countries. In the early years of the program the primary purposes of observers were to determine incidental catch rates of Pacific halibut in groundfish catches and to verify catch statistics in the Japanese crab fishery. Later, observers collected data on the incidence of king crab, snow (Tanner) crab, and Pacific salmon, and obtained biological data on other important species. Following the implementation of the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976, which mandated that foreign vessels accept observers, observer coverage greatly expanded.
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[175.0, 37.0], [-122.0, 37.0], [-122.0, 64.0], [175.0, 64.0], [175.0, 37.0]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1973
    Temporal Extent End 1986

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