Last month, staff from our Fishery Monitoring and Research Division and their collaborators met with local fishermen in Chincoteague, Virginia, to discuss updates to the 2025 Standardized Bycatch Reporting Methodology (SBRM) sea day schedule. The team focused on the additional 107 sea days dedicated to monitoring bottlenose dolphin interactions in the Mid-Atlantic. The team also took the opportunity to help vessel owners/operators obtain required safety decals and support the fishing community’s culture of safety and compliance. We thank our collaborators A.I.S. Inc., NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, and U.S. Coast Guard for helping us address regional fishery observer coverage gaps with Virginia’s fishing community.
