According to the report under this program sablefish log sheets will be collected from skippers of vessels landing in the ports where IPHC samplers are located. The initial request for providing logbook data to ABL came from the sablefish fleet. The fleet is voluntarily providing sablefish information to IPHC staff to be given to the NMFS ABL.
The program also states that any logbook information provided to the NMFS ABL requires a skipper’s signature acknowledging and agreeing to the following: ‘IPHC will forward to Sablefish Assessment, Auke Bay Lab’. Only sablefish data that have this acknowledgement are provided to ABL. IPHC logs are protected from seizure or subpoena. The IPHC and the NMFS ABL scientists’ goal is to facilitate capture of sablefish information for stock assessment purposes, while maintaining the strict IPHC confidentiality policy.
To maintain confidentiality some specific set and landing locations will be provided, but each vessel will be assigned a unique number code, thereby preventing the vessel from being identified. It helps ABL scientists to use the information for stock assessment. In addition to this, the data that are provided to the ABL scientists are not subject to and may not be requested under the Freedom of Information Act. All of these factors contribute to ensuring these data are treated and held under the strictest confidence.
