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The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began placing at-sea observers on commercial shrimping (Penaeidae and Sicyonia brevirostris) vessels in the early 1990's in the southeastern region of the United States (U.S.) to identify and minimize the impacts of shrimp trawling on federally managed species. Recent analysis of bycatch data relative to smalltooth sawfish, Pristis pectinata, a species endangered globally, indicated a high level of uncertainty in the estimated take in the U.S. Due to costs associated with observer coverage, and given the rare event of capturing a smalltooth sawfish, increasing observer coverage to refine take estimates of this species is not considered practical. We explored the use of electronic monitoring (EM) to provide a valid alternative to increased observer coverage for the purpose of documenting fishery interactions with smalltooth sawfish. This system was additionally used to document interactions with other protected species and large teleost and elasmobranch bycatches (>1.0 kg). While no smalltooth sawfish were observed, the catch and safe release of a loggerhead sea turtle, Caretta caretta, was recorded by both the EM system and observer. The EM system was used to record commercial shrimp vessel operations during six trips, encompassing 1,733 h of video over 94 sea days, with a certified fishery observer also being preswithent for the full duration of each trip. Catch composition documented by the EM reviewer was compared to observer data. Overall, 20 tows contained a total of 33 bycatch items in the observer sample that met criteria of being over 1.0 kg. Of these catch items, 87.9% were also detected by the EM reviewer compared to observer data. Detection rates for elasmobranchs were higher in comparison to teleosts, at 95.8%. Pairwise comparison of EM video to data collected by onboard observers (animals >1.0 kg in size) lead us to conclude that EM would be an effective tool for detecting protected resources and larger fauna interactions in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawl fishery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]