Volunteer? Who, me?

We heard quite a bit of bellyaching when the North Pacific observer program expanded this year to cover new fleets, including halibut boats.

One complaint was that more should have been done to develop an alternative to the inconvenience and cost of having a human observer ride along on small boats.

Surely electronic monitoring — onboard cameras — could keep tabs on catch and bycatch, the critics said.

OK, fine.

Now read this letter from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to several commercial fishing groups.

The letter says a pilot project has been set up to test electronic monitoring systems.

The trouble is, not many commercial fishermen have volunteered to take part in the project so far, the letter says.

The council wants a viable electronic monitoring alternative on the water as soon as practicable, and the volunteer pilot program is "vital to the realization of this goal," the letter says.