Mote awarded $500,000 NFWF grant to electronically monitor fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico

Scientists at Mote Marine Laboratory recently received a grant for more than $500,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to continue advancing electronic monitoring of fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
In many fisheries, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)  requires vessels to self-report data on what fish they catch and report using logbooks. Many vessels carry an observer onboard to record that data. Although this system has provided vital info in the past, logbooks don’t always provide the level of detail and consistent data that is ideal for fisheries management and it would not be financially affordable to have trained observers on all commercial fishing vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. Incorporating electronic monitoring, such as using video cameras that film the fish caught, will enhance the ability for more fisheries to document such data.
 
“It is important for fisheries sustainability to accurately document the fish that are caught as well as the accidental catch, called ‘bycatch,' that is discarded” said Carole Neidig, Mote staff scientist. “Electronic monitoring will help to document and provide a permanent record of the type and number of species caught, location of capture, the observed condition, and even sex (for adult sharks) of species discarded, which are key factors in managing fisheries sustainably.”
 
The Ocean Conservancy led the first study of electronic monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico in 2011 with Mote and other project partners to determine if using electronic monitoring tools could be effective for fisheries monitoring and management. That pilot study showed that electronic monitoring could be successfully applied aboard bottom longline and bandit (vertical line) vessels fishing for snapper and grouper, and study partners decided to shift leadership of the project to Mote, an ideal organization to interface with the fishers and NOAA alike. Additional support from NFWF, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation (SFPF), the Environmental Defense Fund, and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service have contributed to this new technology in the Gulf of Mexico.


The newest phase, thanks to this NFWF-funded grant, will launch in January 2017 when electronic monitoring equipment is installed on commercial longline vessels based in southwest and the panhandle of Florida, Louisiana and Texas. Scientists will provide each vessel with training and equipment, including closed-circuit video cameras that will operate during fishing, gear sensors to detect fishing activity, a GPS to help detect where fish are caught and a monitor and computer control center with a portable hard drive that will later be returned to Mote for viewing and data analysis.
 
Electronic monitoring is a new technology for the Gulf of Mexico, and has the potential to be a useful tool for collecting and providing more accurate, timely and cost-efficient data for fisheries management.
 
“This grant will build on successful pilot studies and help to advance approval and implementation of Gulf-wide electronic monitoring to improve catch and discard monitoring,” Neidig said.
 
The monitoring effort will focus on reef fisheries important to Gulf economies, particularly on improving information about bycatch — unintentional catch that may include protected, sensitive or young marine life not ready for harvest. Project partners hope to expand these efforts over the long-term to increase electronic monitoring Gulf wide, with consistent monitoring and data analysis based at Mote.
 
Neidig is working with commercial fishers and other partners to improve the collection of accurate catch and release data from the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishery.
 
“This work would not be possible without the immense support of our partners, including technical support, the fishing community which includes fish house owners, commercial fishing groups, vessel owners and their captain and crews, and our Mote volunteers,” Neidig said. “It is a team effort to help find a way to monitor catches and bycatches now so we can guarantee more fish for the future.”
 
Results from the Gulf project will help resource managers document which fish species are being caught in particular locations, which species are caught as bycatch, and where and when fishing vessels encounter protected species. Results will be shared with participating fishers to support sustainable and responsible fishing practices.
 
“Carole and her team are doing a wonderful job in establishing Mote Marine Lab as a Center for Gulf-wide Electronic Monitoring to quantify the commercial catch by bottom longline fishing vessels -- with the aim of serving as an independent Center for providing this kind of data to NOAA for use in their fishery management models,” said Dr. Ken Leber, Senior Scientist at Mote.
 
NFWF’s Electronic Monitoring and Reporting (EMR) Grant Program was launched in 2015 to catalyze the implementation of electronic technologies in U.S. fisheries. It aims to integrate technology into fisheries data collection for improved fisheries management. The EM grant program is supported by NOAA and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
 
The grant is one of 10 grants awarded in 2016 that will advance electronic technology implementation through improvements in the quality, accuracy and timeliness of both commercial and recreational fisheries data. The 2016 grants total more than $3.35 million, and will be matched by nearly $3.23 million in additional support from the grantees, for a total on-the-water impact of more than $6.58 million.
 
Mote will match more than $500,000 from private donations of funding and in-kind support, which will be shared by Mote and project partners.