November 25, 2019 — Fishing vessel location data from Automatic Information Systems (AIS) has shown promise to illuminate fishing activities around the world for fisheries managers and researchers, especially in the far reaches of the ocean and in regions where monitoring is limited.
But despite its potential to aid researchers and fishery managers, it’s not a perfect tool.
November 19, 2019 — John Hankins owns the boat “Courageous,” which he sails out of Warrenton on the northern Oregon coast. He had a smile after returning from 25 days fishing for albacore.
“I’m full,” he said. “Both tanks!”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration didn’t assign a fisheries observer to his boat this trip. But he said, it happens fairly regularly.
“They’re usually not a problem for us. They’re measuring fish, they’re getting stats on the fish,” Hankins said.
Fisheries observers are biologists tasked with monitoring commercial fisheries to collect data for conservation and stock management. They also make sure boats are in compliance with certain rules, such as having required safety equipment on board.
“We had one on the boat one time that was a real pain, because they didn’t like us talking negatively about whales,” Hankins said. “And he got all bent out of shape for it. Other than that, we never have a problem with the observers.”
But, he said, most of the time, the observer is just another person on board, with a job to do.
November 18, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
The VMS unit installed on your vessel requires a software update to comply with recent regulatory changes and prepare for potential measures that still must be approved before going into effect.
Depending on your vendor, the new software will be released and available on November 25, 2019 (SkyMate and Woods Hole Group), or will update automatically on November 25, 2019 (McMurdo). Begin using this new software for trips after December 6, 2019.
Bulletins with additional information have been mailed and are also available on our website.
November 1, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council continues to fashion the amendment that will set future monitoring coverage levels for the Northeast groundfish fleet and now expects the measure won’t go out for public comment or hearings until early spring of 2020.
Janice Plante, spokeswoman for the council, said Thursday that the council’s various groundfish committees and panels continue work on the measure, known as Amendment 23, pouring over the full range of alternatives now expected to be presented to the council for a vote at its Jan. 28-30 meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Those alternatives, along with the draft environmental impact statement that includes the analyses for the respective alternatives, then will go out for public comment and hearings in advance of final action by the council next summer.
October 18, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — It’s been almost 15 years since New England groundfish fishermen began monitoring data from their hauls, bottom temperatures from gauges connected to their gear, numbers and types of discards, and other fishing observations to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologists.
The Study Fleet, a pilot project of the Cooperative Research Program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), began by assembling commercial New England groundfish vessels willing to provide high resolution or haul-by-haul self-reported data on catch, effort and environmental conditions while conducting normal fishing operations.
“If we are going to manage the ocean, we need to understand it, and participating in programs like this helps me as a fisherman to understand what is going on,” David Goethel, captain of the F/V Ellen Diane said in an interview in 2008. “It also helps the scientists learn how fishermen do things, what knowledge and skills they have. Everybody learns.”
Seven years ago, New Bedford fisherman Tony Borges joined the group and began to get useful real-time information from monitoring.
The software both fishermen use is called Fisheries Logbook Data Recording Software (FLDRS or “Flounders”). Study Fleet vessels may also collect biological data from their catch when additional data needs are identified by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center scientists.
“We verify what is being reported by the captain and crew both at sea and through statistical data quality checks. Vessel owners are financially compensated for their participation in the Study Fleet,” said Bill Duffy, Port Agent, Greater Atlantic Region.
Borges, who fishes groundfish, fluke and squid, get useful real-time information from monitoring.
“It helps me as a fisherman, since the water temperature at the bottom tells me when I am on fish, and if I move away a couple of degrees, it makes a big difference to what I catch,” said Borges.
“When he sells the fish, NOAA Fisheries can check his data against the dealer report. We can get information on where the fish was caught, the water temperature data for that tow, and the reported catch for that tow,” said Duffy.
“This provides valuable information to fisheries scientists and managers who evaluate the health of the stocks. They can incorporate data like these into their research and assessments. For fishermen, participating in Study Fleet allows them to contribute quantitative information to scientific research and improve understanding of the northeast’s complex ocean ecosystem.”
Duffy and the fleet are working to develop an app called Graphic Offshore Fishing Information System Homepage (GOFISH) that will allow commercial fishing captains and vessel owners to map, graph, and analyze the data they have entered through FLDRS. The GOFISH app produces temperature-depth plots, bycatch analysis graphics, and other visualizations that can assist in fishing operations. The data remain the property of the vessel owner, but can also be used in research to improve our understanding of marine ecosystems.
Electronic monitoring is not an easy sell to fishermen who have learned through years of experiencing the ocean, the weather, and the vagaries of stock movements. They trust their instincts.
“Nobody likes it, let’s be honest, nobody likes to be monitored, nobody likes observers,” says Borges. Instead, Borges suggests, “Let us do our stuff out there and monitor us at the dock, make it so you can’t unload without a monitor.”
But the value of the information is worth any inconvenience, and Borges knows how important it is to manage the resource sustainably.
“Imagine if we had this data 40 years ago,” Borges said.
In 2008, when the system had been running for only a few years, Bill Lee expressed the same sentiment about the importance of data from the fishermen. Lee was captain and owner of the F/V Ocean Reporter from Rockport, Mass., and been involved in NOAA’s Cooperative Research Program and the Study Fleet project from the beginning.
“It is very important to have fishermen involved in the research about their industry,” he said. “The only way we are going to get things to improve is to participate in the process. I get frustrated at times that things haven’t moved further forward, but at least they are moving in the right direction.
“It is all about cooperation. Scientists need and want data about the ocean, and fishermen can help provide that,” Lee said.
In January 2008, the Study Fleet project expanded into two data-poor fisheries, hagfish and tilefish. Mike Palmer, a NEFSC fisheries biologist, said the study fleets have the highest chance of improving stock assessments in data-poor fisheries where there is limited observer coverage and species are not sampled well by NEFSC surveys.
The Cooperative Research Program, of which the Study Fleet project is a part, was established in 1999 by NOAA Fisheries to involve the fishing industry directly in planning and conducting studies that provide useful information for managing fisheries.
When the electronic logbook system was field-tested nearly twenty years ago (between November 2002 and August 2005) about 1,100 trips were reported by 33 vessels using the system in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic Bight.
Data were more accurate and precise than that provided by fishing vessel trip reports in terms of identifying the area of fishing and the duration of effort, and more timely because of the electronic collection and at-sea transmission.
“Sometimes fishermen are surprised by the results from a cooperative research project, but they know they are accurate because they were there,” Goethel said. “The results speak for themselves. We need more efforts like this. There is a lot to be gained for everyone.”
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It was reprinted with permission.
September 26, 2019 — Regional groundfishermen delivered a unified and dire message to the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday, testifying that any radical increases to at-sea monitoring coverage will bankrupt the multispecies groundfish fleet beyond repair and without benefit.
The council, meeting for the third day at the Beauport Hotel Gloucester, dedicated much of Wednesday’s agenda to groundfish issues — including the highly contentious Amendment 23, which will set future monitoring coverage levels and — ultimately — define the economic ability of commercial groundfishermen to continue fishing.
The four alternatives included in the draft amendment call for monitoring coverage levels of 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% of all commercial groundfish trips.
Groundfishermen, speaking Wednesday afternoon during the public comment period, drew a straight line from the increased monitoring costs to the economic collapse of the fishery.
September 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Sector at-sea monitoring provider applications for fishing year 2020 are due October 1, 2019.
If you would like to provide at-sea monitoring (ASM) services to groundfish sectors in fishing year 2020 (May 1, 2020, through April 30, 2021), you must submit an application by October 1, 2019. Companies already approved to provide at-sea monitoring services in fishing years 2019 and 2020 do not need to apply again in order to provide services in 2020. We will review your application in accordance with the monitoring provider standards.
Refer to the posted bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.
Approvals will cover fishing year 2020. If we receive any applications under this announcement final decisions will be published in the Federal Register in November. There will be a future opportunity to apply for a two-year approval to provide services in fishing years 2021 and 2022.
Questions?
Contact: Maria Vasta, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9196
August 2, 2019 — Recently my crewman came into the wheelhouse with a complaint. I am a commercial fisherman and we were on our third consecutive day of carrying at-sea monitors, which we are required to do in 2019 on at least 31% of trips. This is like having your own state policeman ride with you to work to make sure you do not exceed the speed limit. They watch you to make sure you do not throw over any fish that are part of your quota. Because the government wants their monies worth, they have them weigh everything you bring on board.
My crewman’s complaint was about the number of fish and shellfish being killed that would have been returned alive to the ocean on unobserved trips.
My crewman did not come from a fishing background. He was a restaurant chef. In restaurants you do not waste anything. Unsold fresh catch becomes tomorrow’s fish chowder. In fisheries we waste lots of fish, and after a while become hardened to government regulations that require the practice.
July 24, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Thanks to recent technological advances in computer processing hardware, machine vision cameras, and open source software tools, fishery researchers at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are now taking the next steps in developing electronic monitoring systems and image processing applications that would automate data collection from images captured onboard vessels. Eventually, the goal of real-time image processing is to support scientific data that provide greater certainty in managing ocean resources and sustainable fishing practices.
In 2018, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries implemented an electronic monitoring program to provide a monitoring alternative for longline vessels, where accommodating an observer can be logistically difficult.
“This program’s integration of electronic monitoring data directly into the catch estimation data stream marked a milestone,” explains Farron Wallace, former senior research fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center and now director of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center Galveston Laboratory. “However, the systems are not yet able to collect detailed data on individual fish length and weight as an observer does—data that are critical to support stock assessment modelling and catch estimation.”
Additionally, although useable observer data in the North Pacific are either uploaded to a database several times daily via satellite or uploaded at the end of a trip, vessels using electronic monitoring systems store imagery on hard drives, which are then mailed after the trip to video reviewers who process and extract key information. This time-consuming procedure can significantly delay data upload, a concern when data timeliness is essential for fisheries management—particularly for those management programs that have prohibited species catch limits, maximum retainable allowances, or other in-season quota restrictions.
June 14, 2019 — Cameras start to take over for live observers on deck: What does it mean for owners and operators across the country?
Electronic monitoring programs are on the rise as a way to reduce observer costs, avoid the problems of having another person onboard, and increase data gathering. After testing and implementing several programs, NOAA is developing criteria for EM hardware producers and service providers.
“We hope to have standards by the end of the year,” says Brett Alger, electronic technologies coordinator at NMFS. “Once we lay down the framework, it could allow EM to expand greatly.” In February 2019, Alger spoke at a conference in Bangkok that explored the potentials of electronic monitoring. Presenters talked about the real-time upload, via satellite or cell signal, of video from boats, which could be reviewed by artificial intelligence. “We’re hoping to automate review,” says Alger. “We’re looking at machine learning that could identify and measure fish in a split second.”
According to Alger, the idea of monitoring things like bycatch, discards and quota by putting cameras onboard has been around for 20 years, and the Pacific whiting fishery has used electronic monitoring for 15 years. But establishing EM programs is much more complicated than just hooking up cameras and connecting them to a hard drive.
Among EM service providers, two leaders — Archipelago Marine Research and Saltwater Inc. — have broken ground with several programs around the U.S. coasts. Archipelago provides a complete package of cameras, hard drives and review services. Saltwater offers software and some hardware, and a number of services, including developing a vessel monitoring plan and video review.