Division sets training sessions for observer trip scheduling

MOREHEAD CITY – The Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries is hosting a series of public outreach meetings to train fishermen on the Observer Trip Scheduling System.

The OTSS is an automated system that will be used to schedule observer trips for estuarine gill net permitholders in North Carolina.

The division said it had worked with the N.C. Department of Information Technology and volunteer commercial fishermen to develop OTSS. Testing is nearing completion, and the system could be to the public in February 2025. All estuarine gill net permitholders will be mailed an informational packet prior to the outreach meetings.

The division holds an Endangered Species Act Section 10 incidental take permit for the incidental take of five species of sea turtles and two species of sturgeon associated with lawful use of permitted gill nets. The incidental take permit conservation plan requires that the division must observe 7% to 10% of permitted large-mesh gill-net trips and 1% to 2% of estuarine gill net permitted small-mesh gill-net trips.

Permitholders will be required to use OTSS to report their planned fishing trips by either calling an automated hotline or using an online website. From these reports, fishermen will be randomly chosen to take an observer on their trip, and the OTSS will notify all reporting fishermen of their selection status. This process will help the division streamline the scheduling of observer trips, ensuring smoother management of the observer program while supporting compliance with the permit programs’ requirements.

The following public training meetings are scheduled to provide an opportunity for members of the public to learn about the OTSS, how to use it, and to ask questions:

• Jan. 16 at the Division of Marine Fisheries Central District Office, 5285 Highway 70 West, Morehead City.
• Jan. 21 at the Hatteras Civic Center, 56658 N.C. Highway 12, Hatteras.
• Jan. 22 at the Dare County Administration Building, 954 Marshall Collins Drive, Manteo.
• Jan. 23 at the Pasquotank County Library, 100 East Colonial Ave., Elizabeth City.
• Jan. 28 at the Department of Environmental Quality Washington Regional Office, 943 Washington Square Mall, U.S. Highway 17, Washington.
• Jan. 30 at Cape Fear Community College, 411 North Front St., Wilmington.

All sessions begin at 6 p.m.

If you cannot attend any of these meetings, contact the Observer Coordinator, Christina Bland, for more information at Observer.Program@deq.nc.gov or 252-515-5625.