Definition and details of Longline Gear Deployment and Retrieval

Definition of gear deployment and retrieval

The regulations at 50 CFR § 679.5(c)(3)(vi)(B) require vessel operators to record in the logbook the time and location when "the first hook-and-line gear of a set enters the water."

NMFS trains observers that the documented time of gear deployment represents the first hook in the water and the documented time of gear retrieval represents when the last hook came out of the water. This interpretation enables NMFS to gather information on the entire time that hooks were in the water and were able to potentially interact with marine resources (fish, seabirds, marine mammals, etc). This definition is also consistent with NMFS interpretation of gear deployment for trawl gear, which starts when the first part of the trawl net enters the water.

How to enter gear deployment and retrieval in the eLandings elogbook

To help describe how to enter the longline gear deployment into the elogbook, we will use this schematic of a longline gear deployment with 2 positions:

Gear Deployment:

In this example the vessel has deployed their gear starting at position #1 and ended their gear deployment at position #2.  In the eLogbook SET DEPLOY data entry screen, enter Deploy Begin lat/lon = Position #1.  Deploy End lat/lon = Position #2.

So there are two scenarios for gear retrieval with different data entry protocols. 

In Scenario A (see green arrow above), the vessel retrieved its gear in the same order that it was set. In this situation, the Retrieval Begin lat/lon = Position #1 and Retrieval End lat/lon = Position #2.  Those positions match what was already entered under the set deploy entry screen, so there is no need to modify gear locations in the elogbook.  In this scenario, you just need to enter your gear retrieval time into the Set Retrieval screen, where time hauled is the time that the last hook-and-line gear leaves the water:

In Scenario B (see purple arrow above), the vessel retrieved its gear in the opposite order from how it was deployed.  In this situation, the Retrieval Begin lat/lon = Position #2; and the Retrieval End lat/lon = Position #1.   In the legacy logbook you cannot enter the retrieval location, so you must go back into the SET DEPLOY screen edit the information so that END lat/lon = Position #1:

We realize that this means the Set lat/lon and the Retrieval lat/lon will be the same location.  Finally, you also must enter the Set Retrieval information, including your gear retrieval time.  Time hauled = the time that the last hook-and-line gear leaves the water:

Download the PDF here: Definition and details of Longline Gear Deployment and Retrieval