This rule is complicated…We need more time to analyze the impacts that are already in place with NOAA’s electronic monitoring policies which appear to: 1) allow fishermen to contract directly with a private EM provider; 2)allow fishermen to be their own EM provider; 3)allows them to review the date BEFORE NOAA has a chance to see it; 4)Allows them to delete the data that is NOT IN NOAA’s CONTROL in as little as a year following the trip. There are so many unspoken implications to this rule and, in combination with what they are already practicing, I fear it will have some devastating consequences to public access to fisheries observer data and information, making it harder for analysis on fisheries impacts. We need MORE transparency, not less.
Net Gains Alliance comments to NOAA's proposed rule on confidentiality, public comment period closes April 25, 2024. Unfortunately, leadership of NGA is squarely in favor of fishermen owning electronic monitoring data as a means of buy-in to 'scale' EM. This would hamper public access to fisheries data and relinquish government oversight of a public resource. https://lnkd.in/gmZs22mg