Commercial Harvest Reporting/Trip Ticket Program

Attention Commercial Wholesale, Retail & Bait Dealers and Commercial Fishermen:

All dealers who purchase or receive aquatic product(s) from anyone other than another dealer MUST file a monthly report with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department on or before the 10th day of each month following the month in which the reportable activity occurred. The report must be filed every month, whether or not reportable activity occurs. The filing of an incorrect or false report is unlawful. This report must include the forms for all transactions conducted during the period covered by the report. All commercial fishermen who sell their catch to individuals other than wholesale fish dealer, retail fish dealer, wholesale truck dealer, retail truck dealer, bait dealer, bait-shrimp dealer, MUST report these sales by filing a monthly report with the TPWD on or before the 10th day of each month following the month in which reportable activity occurred. Processed aquatic products not sold to the processing dealer must be reported by the commercial fishermen at the landing weight prior to processing. Dealers that do not handle products from commercial fishermen and/or handle only farm raised products DO NOT have to report. If you need more information please view the Trip Ticket Program FAQs below or call the Trip Ticket office in Dickinson 281 534-0117 or Rockport 361 729-2328.

Trip Ticket Program FAQs

What is the Trip Ticket Program?

The Trip Ticket program was established in Texas to collect landings data on a trip basis rather than a monthly summary which was the previous method required by TPWD. Data that is collected includes the pounds of the species harvested, ex-vessel value, area fished, gear type and fisherman information.

Why do we need trip tickets?

Trip tickets are the standard method throughout the nation for collecting marine commercial landings data. Individual trip information provides fishery scientists with gear and area-specific catch information that will improve the accuracy of stock assessments. Individual trip information also provides fishery managers information on the impact of environmental changes and catastrophic events (such as hurricanes) on the fishery.

Who has to report?

All dealers who receive Texas landed aquatic products directly from a commercial fisherman must report. This includes a dealer that receives product landed under his/her own commercial fisherman's license and a licensee who catches and then sells to individuals other than a dealer (Parks and Wildlife Code § 66.019 / 58.150 and §57.993). Dealers that do not purchase aquatic products from commercial fishermen and/or handle only farm raised products do not have to report. All commercial fishermen who sell their catch to individuals, restaurants or to someone other than a wholesale or retail fish dealer must report using trip tickets.

Is the information I provide on trip tickets confidential?

Yes. The information provided on trip tickets is protected under Texas confidentiality statutes.

When do I need to fill out a trip ticket?

A trip ticket must be filled out at the first point of sale or when the commercial fisherman transfers his catch to a dealer or individual.

When are the tickets (reports) due?

All completed tickets are due by the 10th of the following month.

Where and how are reports sent?

Electronic reports are submitted to Bluefin Data LLC (requires software installation) via the Internet and paper tickets are mailed to either Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Dickinson office or Rockport office. TPWD will supply self-addressed envelopes.

What type of report(s) do I need to complete?

Dealers and fishermen have the option of either reporting electronically or using paper tickets. If the dealer/fisherman reports electronically, an electronic ticket is created for each trip and stored until the reports are due. If the dealer/fisherman reports using paper tickets, a Monthly Submission Sheet and the appropriate Trip Ticket Type (e.g. Daily, Oyster, etc.) must be completed for each trip.

  1. Monthly Submission Sheet (MS1): Used to summarize the number of trip tickets that are completed and being sent in to TPWD. If no tickets were filled out because there were no qualifying purchases made, a dealer is required to send a monthly submission sheet indicating no production by listing that trip tickets were completed for the month.
  2. Trip Ticket Types (4 types)
  • Daily Ticket (111B) Used by a dealer who purchases finfish or shellfish (excluding oysters) from commercial fisherman to record one day's catch; can record up to 10 species using one gear type and one primary area fished.
  • Weekly Ticket (333B) Used by a dealer who frequently purchases finfish or shellfish (excluding oysters) from the same fisherman; can record up to 7 days catch within a single week; within a single month and will generally record up to 2 or 3 species using one gear type and one primary area fished.
  • Individual Ticket (444B) Used by a fisherman or boat owner who catches his own finfish or shellfish (excluding oysters) and sells or transfers to an individual or restaurant to record one day's catch; can record up to 10 species using one gear type and one primary area fished.
  • Oyster Ticket (777B) Used by a dealer to record oyster landings from a single fisherman for up to 7 days within a single week, within a single month using one gear type and one primary area fished.

 

Who do I contact in order to start reporting and get blank trip ticket forms? Or if I need help filling out the trip tickets?

Please contact:

Cindy Bohannon @ 281-534-0117

Justin Esslinger @ 361-729-2328


Who do I contact for technical support for the electronic version?

Claude Petersen

Bluefin Data LLC

225 744-0807 Office

claude@bluefindata.com