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| eLandings
Reporting Frequently Asked Questions for BSAI Crab Rationalization, Groundfish, and Halibut/Sablefish IFQ  Last updated: November 1, 2007 Table of Contents
After you have your required State and Federal permits, go to the Internet site www.elandings.alaska.gov. Under "How to Get Started" click on Registration and follow the instructions. To expedite registration, you should have on hand the following information: NMFS RAM Program can also assist you with this process during regular business hours. Contact Brian Avis at (907) 586-7441. No. Individual users must have their
own
accounts. An Admin User for your operation can add additional users
to the operation.
Then each individual user must read and sign the elandings User
Agreement and send the signed copy to the address provided on the form.
This form can be faxed to expedite the process. eLandings has a training website www.elandingsT.alaska.gov for user training and testing. You can do everything on the training system that you can do on the real system, except that reports are not officially submitted. Contact your local office of ADF&G, groundfish staff or NMFS – In-season Management staff, eLandings support personnel to let them know what you want to do, then register a user ID on the training system to allow you to use it for practice. Training materials have been developed to assist you with the training process. Follow the Procedures for Temporary Disconnect from the Internet You will need: Initial reports are submitted, and show up on your report menu page when you log in to remind you to complete them and submit them as final reports. Reports that have been submitted as FINAL do not display, but are available from the Search for Reports section of the Reports Menu, under Status.  Both the initial reports and reports that have been submitted as final can be updated and resubmitted for up to three months. If the landing report date of landing is greater than 30 days old, you must first contact NMFS In-season management to modify the report. The only exception is with the IFQ portion of the landing report. Once you have submitted the IFQ report, you must contact NOAA Enforcement Data Clerks to request a modification to the submitted report. Prior to submission, the IFQ portion of the landing report can be edited. If you have a modification to a landing report (non-IFQ landing or not related to the IFQ portion of the report) that was submitted as final, simply locate the section of the report that requires a corrective action, select the appropriate Add/Edit button, locate the data field and make the edit. Save your edits. Finalized eLandings reports are easily located from the Search for Reports section of the Reports Menu web page. This is the first page that is displayed after you log on to the application. If you know the Report ID number or fish ticket number, that is all that is required to locate a specific report.  You can search for and display all initial, final, and not submitted landing reports from STATUS:  You can also search for and display all reports by report type – crab or groundfish landing report, or shoreside production, or at-sea production report from REPORT TYPE:  The eLandings System allows you to easily delete an unsubmitted report. From the Reports Menu, select the link indicated with the arrow in the illustration below.  The link opens a web page that allows you to select the unsubmitted report you want to delete.  Note that all the fields have to match EXACTLY what is contained in the landing report you are deleting. If you get an error, then re-display the landing report and double check the values. There are several scenarios when you might need to remove an unsubmitted IFQ Report: To remove the report, scroll down to the bottom of the Report Display page. Click on the EDIT IFQ REPORTS button. Then click on the REMOVE UNSUBMITTED REPORTS button. The eLandings system provides a printable report (PDF) of the landed catch for each IFQ permit. The report includes poundage and value. For the Rationalized Crab fishery, the poundage of deadloss is also documented. The off-load of each trip shall be documented as one landing report, unless the off-load documents a partial delivery to separate processing facilities. The IFQ Permit Report is available once you have submitted the IFQ Reports. Scroll down the Report Display page until you find the IFQ Report section. Note that the IFQ report numbers are blue and you can click on them.
When you click on the link, it opens a PDF of the report. This report can be printed and provides a record of the catch for each IFQ permit holder.
To distinguish the number zero (0) from the letter “O” and the number one(1) from the letter “I” on CFEC permit cards, these characters are embossed with the following distinctive features:
 This CFEC permit card illustrates the use of the letter I and the numbers zero(0) and one(1). Because all data elements must be correctly entered in the eLandings application for successful submission of a landing report, critical data elements like the CFEC permit may fail validation and not allow you to complet the landing report. The interim values enable you to continue the reporting process. The interim value must be replaced within 72 hours with the valid ADF&G vessel number or the CFEC permit valid for the fishery and the year. These values are provided to aid processors when an otherwise valid CFEC permit or vessel permit number fails validation. During the 72 hours interim time period, you need to contact the local office of ADF&G or NMFS to obtain assistance. Interim values:
To set up a custom processing relationship, the purchaser/owner of the catch must first establish the business relationship with the custom processor. It is very easy to document and establish this relationship in the eLandings System. The purchaser/owner of the catch must have an operation already set up for the plant or vessel that will be doing the actual processing. The purchaser/owner then authorizes the custom processor to act as their agent in receiving (and possibly processing) the catch. The custom processor will need to provide to the purchaser/owner its identifying codes that are required to take possession of the catch. The codes include the ADF&G Processor Code, the Federal Permit Number, the registered Buyer Number for IFQ halibut or sablefish, and the Registered Crab Receiver Number for IFQ crab. It is not necessary for the purchaser/owner of the catch to provide the custom processor with a metal code plate to complete the landing report. Once the business relationship operation is established, the eLandings System will automatically display the owner processor and the custom processor within the landing report web window. Complete
instruction on establishing a custom
processing relationship is available in the
eLandings
User's Guide,section 4.4.6. The eLandings system has to deal with multiple levels
of splitting and allocating weights among permits. Particularly when
generating IFQ reports on landings with many statistical areas entered
on the statistical area worksheet, the weights, and (numbers of crab),
are divided and subdivided, and are treated as fractions that can be
added back together. If eLandings used a scheme to always divide out
whole numbers then problems would occur if for example an itemized
catch line had 50 pounds and 5 crab, with 6 statistical areas in the
statistical area worksheet. One statistical area would get zero crab
weighting 8.3 pounds (50 divided by 6), which makes no more sense than
.83 crab. Handling divisions using fractions rather than by complex
rules of where to put the remainders simplifies the system and avoids
problems where the special rules are not right. If you want to see only
pounds with no fractions you can always edit the itemized catch by
hand, and avoid using the statistical area worksheet. This information is needed for economic analysis of the fisheries. This number includes State of Alaska licensed crew only, not processing crew. This information assists in-season managers in evaluating harvest. In crab fisheries, observers are State of Alaska certified crab observers. If you do not have an observer on board, report 0 observers. The number of days that the gear was in the water, actively fishing. This would include soak days (times) for pots and longline gear. Days spent traveling to or from the grounds, if gear has been removed from the water, are not considered when calculating days fished. Record the NMFS ID for the individual who holds the CFEC permit and will sign the fish ticket. Yes to all of these questions. No, all required reporting for both the ADF&G and NMFS RAM can be completed using the eLandings System. eLandings will generate a paper fish ticket that you must print, sign, and submit to ADF&G within 7 days of the end of the offload. Completed ADF&G fish tickets should be sent to your local ADF&G office Local staff frequently will pick up fish tickets from processors, weekly. Please check with the local office to determine the preferred procedure. The eLandings System provides you with error messages that indicate the problem and provide you with instructions on rectifying the problem. 
When you get an error message you can click on the blue text of the error message to get more information. The Error Message details provides a description of the error, probable causes, and corrective action. 
If you need additional assistance, contact the eLandings Help Desk at their toll free number: (888) 443-5726. NOAA Fisheries Enforcement provides Data Clerks that can assist you 6 a.m. to midnight. Call their toll-free number (800) 304-4646, option #1, during their business hours. If no one is available to assist you at other times, you will need to wait until 6 am. All data reported through eLandings are received into large data collection repository, and from there it is distributed to the management agencies like NOAA and ADF&G. The "master" or "fish ticket" information may be amended through eLandings; but once NOAA receives the information, it is posted to your IFQ and IPQ permit accounts and is also used in computing vessels caps, etc. IFQ and IPQ accounts are subject to change through quota transfers and therefore must be carefully changed by hand if revisions must be made after the fact. This will help ensure, for example, that a report amendment does not trigger an apparent fishery violation when none has occurred. ELandings has a feature that will allow you to export the data as an XML format file. On the report display page, right click on the landing report number and save as a file on your computer. XML is a type of text file that the eLandings System and many other systems recognize. The schema is available by email at: elandings@alaska.gov eLandings and Crab Rationalization
Registered Crab Receivers are required to report all CR crab fishery landings, and must do so electronically eLandings: http://elandings.alaska.gov/ . To use the system you must have a computer and printer, and an Internet connection with email. Then, you must obtain required State and Federal permits, and establish a user account. Yes, you are required to report CR Crab electronically. The Internet URL is located at http://elandings.alaska.gov/. For the at-sea fleet that does not have Internet service, a Desktop Client Application (software package) can be used to generate files that you will submit via email. This Desktop Client Application software can be obtained by contacting NOAA Fisheries, Sustainable Fisheries Division toll-free at (800) 304-4846, option #3. For the at-sea fleet that does not have Internet service, a Desktop Client Application (software package) can be used to generate files that you will submit via email. This Desktop Client Application software can be obtained by contacting NOAA Fisheries, Sustainable Fisheries Division toll-free at (800) 304-4846, option #3. You must report once per week. Fish tickets are submitted to ADF&G when you report to port. Send the tickets to the local office of ADF&G. For the Rationalized Crab fisheries, the local office is Dutch Harbor. ADF&G Yes, CDQ crab other than Norton Sound king crab, is rationalized crab, and must be reported by Registered Crab Receivers, using the eLandings system. For reporting CDQ crab with eLandings, you will need to enter the CFEC CDQ permit, identify the management program, and the specific identification number issued to the CDQ group. You should not enter any information in the IFQ Permit Worksheet including: NMFS ID, IFQ Permit, Species, IPQ Permit, or use the Lbs. to max-out permit. Screen shot from the eLandings Report page:
Price data are required so that we can estimate the fishery value and the appropriate amount of cost recovery fees required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act (due by July 31 following each crab fishing year). If you do not know your final prices at the time of landing, you can provide interim prices. There is no regulatory requirement to later update your prices in eLandings, but you may wish to do so, so that RAM's fee statements will more accurately reflect total crab value and so that your own records will be more complete. Regardless of the prices reported and the dollar amount on RAM's fee statement, by regulation you must pay a percent of the total value (money, goods, and services) paid for the crab. No, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game manages this fishery and does not require or desire documentation of discarded at sea undersized or female crab. All other species, crab and non-crab, that are retained and sold, retained for personal use, or retained for bait must be documented on the eLandings Landing Report. For crab processed at sea, record a price of $0.01. By regulation, your fee assessment will be based on the ex-vessel prices paid by other Registered Crab Receivers. With eLandings, an entire offload should be recorded as a single landing report. CDQ fishing requires a special CFEC Permit as does IFQ. In other words, you will need to have two CFEC Permits to record both IFQ and CDQ harvests. For the IFQ portion of the report, enter all IFQ information and permits, including NMFS ID, IFQ and IPQ permit numbers, and species associated with that IFQ permit. For the CDQ portion, enter the CFEC permit, the CDQ management program and ID number, only. For a CDQ landing, you should not enter any information in the IFQ Permit Worksheet, including: NMFS ID, IFQ Permit, Species, IPQ Permit, or use the Lbs. to max-out permit. Screen shot from the eLandings Report page:
eLandings and Groundfish (including IFQ halibut/sablefish)
A number of processors have reported problems using the eLandings System for some of the more complex deliveries. The problems that we have identified include: The complicating issue is that these situations can and are present for one delivery. Accurate documentation of the area of harvest and accurate debiting of IFQ by area can be challenging. The eLandings Development Team are exploring long term solutions to address many of the issues that compound the reporting of IFQ sablefish and halibut. We hope to have some of the solutions to simplify reporting of complex deliveries within the next few months. In the interim, we do have a few suggestions that should offer you some workable solutions. The eLandings System does allow you to record multiple CFEC permits and multiple IFQ permits for one landing. If the permit holders making the delivery have fished in more than one IPHC regulatory area and would like to use the max out pounds function in the eLandings System, create separate landing reports for the harvest that took place in each of the regulatory areas. Prior to beginning the landing report, determine if the fisher or fishers will be debiting harvest from more than one IPHC Regulatory Area. The eLandings Systems maintains a statistical area codes table that translates each stat area to the federal reporting area and the IPHC Regulatory Area.
 If the statistical area(s) is ambiguous, for example it is part of both 2C/3A, the specific management area can be identified in the Edit IFQ section of the eLandings System.  If the permit holder(s) have fished in more than one IPHC Regulatory Area and want to max out pounds for a specific quota area, then a separate landing report should be created for the harvest in each IPHC Regulatory Area. You will still be able to record multiple CFEC permits when you create separate landing reports for each Regulatory Area and you will still be able to use the Stat Area Worksheet. The second complex delivery type involves fishing during the same trip for both sablefish and halibut. It is not uncommon for the harvest of both the target species – the halibut and the sablefish, as well as the bycatch from this fishing, to come from distinctly different statistical areas. The eLandings System Statistical Area Worksheet may be used to document the harvest from a single or multiple statistical areas if the species that were caught and retained or caught and discarded are equally distributed across all statistical areas fished. Another alternative is to list the statistical area for the catch and bycatch in the itemized catch section of the eLandings System. In that case, the Stat Area Worksheet would NOT be used to document the area of harvest. While we strongly prefer that you do not create two landing reports, it may be necessary. Our primary objective is to obtain accurate statistical areas of harvest. This information is used by fisheries management agencies staff for both in-season and long-term harvest assessment.  No, the International Pacific Halibut Commission manages this fishery and does not require or desire documentation of discarded at sea undersized halibut. All other species that are discarded at sea, retained and sold, retained for personal use, or retained for bait must be documented on the eLandings Landing Report. Separate landing reports are required when the vessel uses two separate gear types, even though it is on a single trip. Document the harvest from the portion of the trip for each gear type; and for both landing reports, check the Partial Delivery box.  The Interim Fish Ticket forms - groundfish and shellfish (crab) may be used to immediately document the landing after hours – but the landing information MUST be entered into the eLandings System by noon the day following the offload and submitted as either an initial and/or final report. The Interim Fish Ticket forms may not be used for IFQ landings unless the internet is unavailable, and with the authorization of NMFS Enforcement. At the point of the initiation of the off-load, the vessel operator must provide the receiver/purchaser with the CFEC Permit Card, appropriate and valid for the catch being delivered. The CFEC permit card is embossed (imprinted) on the interim fish ticket form. All other information fields on the 'header' of the ticket are also completed. If off-load (scale) weights are available, all weights by species must be documented on the fish ticket. If off-load (scale) weights are not immediately available because the catch is being sorted, estimated or hailed weights can be documented. Please indicate estimated or hailed weights with the label, EST behind the poundage. The vessel operator and the receiver/buyer must both sign the interim fish ticket. The vessel operator may indicate that the signature is interim until final report documentation is provided. A copy of the completed interim fish ticket should be provided to the vessel operator. By noon the day following the offload, the interim fish ticket MUST be entered into the eLandings System and submitted as an initial and/or final report. The copy of the interim fish ticket, and a copy of the final submission of the fish ticket should be stapled together and sent to the local office of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game within seven (7) days of the date of landing. Revisions and corrections to landing reports and the individual fish ticket(s) that comprise the landing reports can be submitted, even after the landing report has been submitted as a final report. IFQ reports that have been submitted CANNOT be re-submitted. If a correction to a submitted IFQ report is required, you must contact the IFQ Data Clerks at 1-800-304-4846, Option #1. IFQ/IPQ Annual Account Information Questions
The IFQ balance for individual quota shareholders is confidential to the shareholder. IFQ balances should only be checked by the permit holder prior to fishing and prior to landing. We have established two links within the eLandings web application to allow the IFQ Permit Holder to check account balances. These links are 1) just below the IFQ Permit Worksheet, within the Vessel, Permit, Location Information section of the application, and 2) in the IFQ Reports section. These link locations allow for the review of IFQ account balances prior to documenting how many pounds to max-out the permit, as well as before and after submission of the IFQ report.   The direct URL to the NOAA web site to check halibut and sablefish IFQ account balances is: https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/webapps/ifqatm/CardholderLogin The direct URL to the NOAA web site to check crab IFQ account balances is: https://www.fakr.noaa.gov/webapps/crabaccounts/Login You should contact the NOAA Fisheries, Restricted Access Management (RAM) Program staff during business hours at 1-800-304-4846, option # 2. A cooperative is an organized, NOAA-approved collection of Quota Share holders, each of whom agrees to assign his/her annual IFQ to a harvesting cooperative. The cooperative, and not the quota share holder, receives the annual IFQ permit for any IFQ pounds assigned to the cooperative. Each cooperative designates an individual to be its official representative. That individual has been notified of the password necessary to use the Internet to obtain account and vessel balances on line and can share that information with anyone they choose. Every IFQ permit holder (including cooperatives) and their Hired Masters can obtain their IFQ account balances on line.
More information on the Rationalized Crab Program:
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