Electronic technology implementation plan - Highly Migratory Species

I. Purpose/Background
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is committed to the use of electronic technologies in fishery dependent data collection to collect timely, cost-efficient data needed to manage U.S. federal fisheries. NMFS is examining its available electronic technologies – including both electronic reporting (ER) and electronic monitoring (EM) capabilities - at the national level as a means to improve management, reporting, and cost efficiencies. Modern fishery-dependent data collection technologies can ensure collections are timely, accurate, adaptable to emerging needs, and capable of providing data at a scale that will support management and scientific needs of the agency and our partners.
In May 2013, NMFS issued Policy Directive 30-133, Policy on Electronic Technologies and Fishery-Dependent Data Collection1, stating that implementation will rely on Regional Offices, and the Office of Sustainable Fisheries with respect to Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS), initiating consultations on the consideration and design of fishery-dependent data collection programs that use electronic technologies for each Federal fishery. As a result, Regional Electronic Technology Implementation Plans and an implementation plan for Atlantic HMS have been developed to address regionally-specific fishery dependent data collection issues and electronic technologies to address these issues. This document provides the Electronic Technologies Implementation Plan for Atlantic HMS to meet the objectives outlined in the Policy Directive. The Atlantic HMS Plan was reviewed by the Electronic Technologies Working Group (ETWG) to ensure it was complete and consistent with the regional implementation plans, and all comments, edits, and feedback were considered in this document. This version also reflects input from the HMS Advisory Panel during the March 2015 meeting.