August 20, 2025 — The Northeast Fisheries Science Center used a DriX uncrewed vessel to complement its survey of southern New England fisheries this spring, with the small drone collecting data that would be difficult for traditional research vessels to gather.
NOAA Fisheries has promoted the use of uncrewed systems as an emerging technology that can be used to overcome several challenges to federal government fisheries surveys. Advocates say the autonomous vessels can navigate in areas where larger vessels can’t operate, such as in and around the increasing number of offshore wind developments. While those installations have threatened to disrupt NOAA Fisheries long-term data collection efforts, researchers believe drones can help fill the gaps in data collection.