Representatives of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC), and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have been working for the last two years to address fishery data acquisition issues, with a goal of cooperative interagency electronic fishery information collection. The three agencies have separate, but to some extent codependent, harvest data collection and database maintenance systems. The initial goal of the project will be to collect a single set of landing data for Alaska fisheries that will allow the fishing industry to provide data only once to all agencies. The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is assisting with this project, in the role of a grant manager.

The potential benefits of electronic reporting of commercial harvest include reduction of staff efforts dedicated to fish ticket data processing, reduction in the cost of printing and distribution of paper fish ticket forms, improved accuracy of catch data, and more timely data. Processors should also gain efficiencies as a result of consolidated catch reporting, as well. We continue to envision a system that will allow catch data to be electronically data captured (entered) at the processor via the web. A paper fish ticket will be printed, signed, provided to the vessel operator. Processors will continue to submit a signed, paper copy of the landing report to ADF&G. Fish tickets will continue to be reviewed, compared to other data collection programs, such as dockside interviews and logbooks, edited, and archived in the traditional manner.