Feds try to improve fishing data with new monitoring rules

PORTLAND, Maine — Changes to U.S. rules about the monitoring of Northeast commercial fishing activities are going into effect this month with a goal of providing more accurate information about some of the nation’s oldest fisheries. The National Marine Fisheries Service has adopted new monitoring rules for Northeast fishermen of groundfish, like haddock and flounder, to try to improve the accuracy of the data. The monitoring rules include a plan to reimburse the fishing industry for at-sea monitoring costs in the 2022 fishing year. The Northeast Seafood Coalition, which represents commercial fishing groups, argued that more information was needed to show that increased monitoring would improve management of fisheries. The new monitoring plan also includes the approval of new electronic monitoring technologies to serve as an alternative to workers on board, the fisheries service said.