50 C.F.R. § 300.22

(a) Logbooks—(1) General logbook reporting. The master or other person in charge of a commercial fishing vessel or commercial passenger fishing vessel (CPFV) authorized to fish for tuna and tuna-like species in the Convention Area, or a person authorized in writing to serve as the agent for either person, must keep an accurate log of operations conducted from the fishing vessel.

(2) Longline and other non-purse seine logbooks. Maintaining and submitting any logbook required by existing state or Federal regulation will be sufficient to comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(3) Purse seine logbooks. For purse seine vessels greater than 400 st (362.8 mt) carrying capacity that are authorized to purse seine for tuna in the Convention Area, the log must include for each day the date, noon position (stated in latitude and longitude or in relation to known physical features), and the tonnage of fish on board, by species. The record and bridge log maintained and submitted at the request of the IATTC will be sufficient to comply with this paragraph (a)(3) and with paragraph (a)(1) of this section, provided the items of information specified by the IATTC are accurately entered in the log. For purse seine vessels of 400 st (362.8 mt) carrying capacity or less, maintaining and submitting any logbook required by existing state or Federal regulation will be sufficient to comply with paragraph (a)(1) of this section.

(b) Whale shark encirclement reporting. The owner and operator of a purse seine fishing vessel of the United States that encircles a whale shark (Rhincodon typus) while commercially fishing in the Convention Area must ensure that the incident is recorded on the log that is required by paragraphs (a)(1) and (3) of this section. The log must include the following information: The number of individual whale sharks with which the vessel interacted, details of how and why the encirclement happened, where it occurred, steps taken to ensure safe release, and an assessment of the life status of the whale shark upon release (including whether the animal was released alive, but subsequently died), as may be further specified by NMFS.

(c) FAD reporting—(1) Reporting on FAD interactions. U.S. purse seine vessel operators must provide the observer with the FAD identification code and, as appropriate, the other information in the FAD interaction standard format provided by the HMS Branch. U.S. vessel owners and operators, without an observer onboard, must ensure that any interaction or activity with a FAD is reported using a FAD interaction standard format provided by the HMS Branch. The owner and operator shall ensure that the form is submitted within 30 days of each landing or transshipment of tuna or tuna-like species to the address specified by the HMS Branch.

(2) Reporting on Active FADs. U.S. vessel owners and operators must record or maintain daily information on buoy location and acoustic data for all Active FADs that have been deployed in the water in the IATTC Convention Area and report that information to the IATTC, using a format and address provided by the HMS Branch. Daily information on buoy location must include date, time, buoy identifier, latitude, longitude, IMO number, speed, and whether or not the echosounder is on or off. Daily acoustic data will vary depending on the buoy company, but must include company, buoy identifier, latitude, longitude, date, time, and available layers of data. Further instructions on reporting data specific for different buoys companies are available in a compliance guide. This information must be submitted for each calendar month no later than 90 days after the month covered by the report.

(3) Deactivation of Active FADs. U.S. vessel owners and operators must report any deactivation of a satellite buoy, including the reason for deactivation, date, latitude, longitude, buoy identifier, and speed. This information must be reported to the IATTC, using a format and address provided by the HMS Branch. This information must be submitted for each calendar month no later than 90 days after the month covered by the report.

(4) Reactivation of Active FADs. U.S. vessel owners and operators must report any remote reactivation of a satellite buoy, including the reason for remote reactivation, date, latitude, longitude, buoy identifier, speed. This information must be reported to the IATTC, using a format and address provided by the HMS Branch. This information must be submitted for each calendar month no later than 90 days after the month covered by the report.

(5) Reporting on recovered FADs. U.S. vessel owners and operators must report information on FADs that are recovered for disposal or recycling to the IATTC, unless that information is already reported to the IATTC by an observer. This information must be reported using a format and address provided by the HMS Branch. The owner and operator must ensure that the form is submitted within 30 days of each recovery to the address specified by the HMS Branch.

(d) Cannery reporting. U.S. vessel owners and operators must report processing plant data for fish caught in the IATTC Convention Area to the IATTC, and also make the data available to NMFS upon request, no later than 10 days after completion of unloading and the last day of grading by size. Instructions for reporting are available in a compliance guide.

(e) Sea turtle interaction reporting. The owner and operator of a purse seine fishing vessel of the United States that interacts with a sea turtle while commercially fishing in the Convention Area must ensure that the incident is recorded on the log that is required by paragraph (a) of this section, unless that information is already reported to the IATTC by an observer.

(1) Required information. The log of sea turtle interactions must include the following information:

(i) Number of individual sea turtles with which the vessel interacted;

(ii) Date of interaction;

(iii) Location of interaction (latitude and longitude of interaction);

(iv) Fishing gear type;

(v) Species identification;

(vi) Size (i.e., curved or straight carapace length); and,

(vii) Capture and release condition (e.g., live/injured/dead).

(2) Supplemental information. If available, the log of sea turtle interactions should also include the following:

(i) The anatomical hooking location (e.g., flipper, mouth/jaw, swallowed, entangled);

(ii) Amount of gear left on the animal, if applicable (e.g., estimated length of line); and,

(iii) Any associated photographs.