November 13, 2017 — CAPE COD, Mass. — With fleets on the West Coast and in Alaska, members of the East Coast swordfishing and herring fleets and 20 New England groundfishermen all using cameras to record their fishing, the technology is gaining ground as a fisheries management tool, including off Cape Cod.

This year, Cape fishermen — pioneers of the movement in New England — working with the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, along with members of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, are set to reap some unexpected benefits for their willingness to play guinea pig: greater access to Atlantic bluefin tuna, one of the most valuable fish in the sea.

This was the second year the fishing activity of Mike Russo and his crew was recorded by cameras as voluntary participants in a program to replace costly human fishery observers. Instead of occasionally carrying an observer — at-sea-monitors are only required on 16 percent of all groundfish trips — Russo and other local fishermen volunteered for electronic monitoring on 100 percent of their trips.

“It’s proving that we are responsible stewards of the ocean, that we are fishing in a responsible way within the laws set out for us,” said Nick Muto, who fishes out of Harwich and Chatham and carries three of the cameras on his vessel.

A 2016 report by The Nature Conservancy showed that in 2015, 92 percent of videos were good enough for technicians to get catch and discard data and weight and length estimates, up from 23 percent in 2013, as crews and researchers learned to work with the system. Christopher McGuire, marine program manager for the conservancy, expects the development of video recognition software that will automate data gathering is imminent and will greatly reduce the cost of electronic monitoring.

Read the full story at Cape Cod Times