Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote (CFEMM)

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Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote (CFEMM)

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Fishing is a $200-billion industry in the United States, providing 1.7 million jobs. The economically important Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery includes more than 890 commercial reef fish permitted vessels and comprises 31 species managed using Annual Catch Limits. Objective, scientific data are necessary to ensure the fishery’s health, but currently, the NOAA Fisheries Observer Program is only able to monitor about 2% of vessels' fishing effort in the fishery.

To complement this important program and fill monitoring gaps—a need emphasized by federal fisheries managers and the commercial industry—the independent, nonprofit Mote Marine Laboratory operates the Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote (CFEMM).

CFEMM is the only program dedicated to developing and assessing electronic monitoring (EM) technology as a tool in the Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish fishery to better meet the demand by industry and management for accurate, independent data to ensure long-term fishery health.

What CFEMM does – “Eyes on the Gulf”

CFEMM is a leader in advancing electronic monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico commercial reef fish fishery in partnership with the fishing industry, management organizations, an EM equipment and software provider, and other stakeholders.

Volunteer commercial fishing vessel owners and captains partner with CFEMM scientists and Saltwater Inc., an EM equipment and software provider based in Anchorage, Alaska, to have specialized cameras, a computer processor, and sensors installed on their fishing vessels (left photo above, left photo below). These systems record the trip length, speed, hydraulic pressure, location, and fishing events (sets, soaks and hauls) on a timeline. Video recordings (with no sound) are reviewed confidentially by the CFEMM Team (right photo below) to document fishing effort, total catch and bycatch of species per event and trip, species kept/discarded, species disposition at capture, including depredated (damage by predators) catch, and discards.

CFEMM scientists and partner Waterinterface LLC analyze the collected data to demonstrate and improve the available technology and data products—including much-needed bycatch and discard data—for management of the valuable Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery. CFEMM scientists correlate their EM trip data with identifiers for other fisheries monitoring data from the same trips, including observer logs, dealer trip tickets, and biological sampling to augment datasets for management needs.

CFEMM coverage

CFEMM results summary

Involved 22 bottom longline and vertical-line vessels from six ports in Florida and Texas.
Reviewed >474 commercial fishing trips covering 4,063 sea days.
Documented >164,663 fish species, including detailed data on their catch and release dispositions.
Recorded >152 finfish and shark species/species groupings.
Provided species specific data in presentations and working papers to SouthEast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) for consideration in stock assessments.
Integrated the 1st underwater camera with an EM system on a bottom longline vessel to document large shark cut-offs. (Left: sandbar shark. Right: Great hammerhead shark as viewed by the UCAM)

Tested the 1st discard chute (with the NOAA Alaska Fishery Science Center) for a bottom longline vessel to quantify and measure discards of undersized target species (red grouper discards measure with algorithm developed by the University of Washington).

Provided species annotations for development of cutting-edge artificial intelligence technology to reduce manual video review time by employing catch detection algorithms to find catch events and shark discards in unreviewed video.
Provided >180 fish, 16 different species otoliths and fin clips to aid in aging and gene processing of data deficient species.
Video and photo below: Collecting otoliths, or "ear bones," from different reef fish species

Deployed stern cameras on bottom longline vessels to document short-term discard survival. (Left: Roof boom-mounted stern camera. Right: discarded red grouper and bottlenose dolphin interaction)

Applied EM as a tool to evaluate industry gear specific question of hook size effect on catch and bycatch rates. (Right, top: Painted leader clips. Right, bottom: 13/0 and 15/0 hooks)

To learn more, see these CFEMM links:

Opportunities to work with CFEMM

We invite our colleagues from resource management agencies, Fishery Management Councils, scientific institutions and the fishing industry to contact CFEMM to explore opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange.

As part of the independent, nonprofit Mote Marine Laboratory, CFEMM depends on competitive grants and philanthropic support, along with a team of dedicated, trained community scientists (citizen scientists).

Contact CFEMM

Carole L. Neidig, M.S.
Staff Scientist
cneidig@mote.org
941-704-7663

Projects in progress

Integral to all projects is the participation and contributions made by the Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Industry vessel owners, captains, and crew their respective fishing organizations, and Saltwater Inc. EM equipment and software provider.

Artificial Intelligence Supported Management: Optimized Retention in the Gulf of Mexico
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Electronic Monitoring and Recording Program (EMR) Collaborators: CVision AI; GoM Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance

Sustainable Gulf of Mexico Multispecies Fisheries
Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA) Ocean Leadership Microgrant

Electronic Monitoring for Sustainability in a Gulf of Mexico Multispecies Fishery
Sea Pact

Impacts of Hook Size Modifications on Catch and Bycatch Rates in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM) Bottom Longline (BLL) Reef Fish Fishery
NOAA Bycatch Reduction and Engineering Program (BREP)

Leveraging Electronic Monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery for an Innovative Minimal Human-Contact Collection of Biological Samples from Data-Poor Species
NOAA Cooperative Research Program (CRP)
Collaborators: NOAA Southeast Fishery Science Center, Panama City, FL; Texas A&M University

Streamlining Electronic Monitoring Data Acquisition in the GoM Reef Fish Fishery Using Artificial Intelligence
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Electronic Monitoring and Recording (EMR) Program
Collaborators: CVision AI; NOAA Southeast Fishery Science Center, Galveston, TX; University of Washington

Application and Advancement of Innovative Technologies for Electronic Monitoring (EM) in Support of Best Fishing Practices for the Commercial Gulf of Mexico (GOM) Snapper-Grouper Fishery - Phase II
NOAA NMFS Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP)
Collaborators: NOAA Southeast Fishery Science Center, Galveston, TX, NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center; SeaSucker LLC.; SubAqua Imaging Systems Inc.; Waterinterface, LLC.

Completed projects

Electronic Monitoring Applications and Data Solutions for Sustainability in a Gulf of Mexico Multispecies Fishery, Phase II
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Electronic Monitoring and Recording (EMR) Program
Collaborator: Waterinterface, LLC.

Functional Electronic Monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery, Phase II: Tactical Assessment of Bycatch, Discards, and Community Structure including Highly Migratory and Data Limited Species
Grant from NOAA’s Cooperative Research Program (CRP)
Collaborator: Waterinterface, LLC.

Building Linkages for Use of Electronic and Human Observer Data in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery
Net Gains Alliance
Collaborator: Waterinterface LLC.

Gulf-Wide Electronic Monitoring for a Sustainable Commercial Reef Fish Fishery
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Electronic Monitoring and Recording (EMR) Program
Collaborator: Waterinterface, LLC.,

Best Fishing Practices for Bycatch Reduction in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery: Employing Innovation Underwater Cameras and the Refined Modeling to Further the Use of Electronic Monitoring
NOAA Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program (BREP)
Collaborators: SeaSucker; Sub Aqua Imaging Systems Inc., Waterinterface, LLC,

Reducing Bycatch and Optimizing Efficiency in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery, Phase I: Accurately Assessing the Bycatch Problem Using Electronic Monitoring in Cooperative Research
NOAA NMFS Cooperative Research Project (CRP)
Collaborator: Waterinterface LLC

Accurately Assessing Catch and Bycatch with Electronic Monitoring (EM): The Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery as a Model for EM Application and Improvement
Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

Regional Capacity Building for Gulf Electronic Monitoring
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Innovation Fund
Collaborators: Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Foundation, Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, Waterinterface LLC, and Archipelago Marine Research Ltd.

Pilot study of the use of electronic monitoring systems in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fishery
Ocean Conservancy (Project Lead), through National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Innovation Fund
Collaborators: Archipelago Marine Research Ltd., Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, East West Technical Services, and Mote Marine Laboratory

Working papers

Lee, M., G. Patrick, C. Neidig, R. Schloesser. 2022. Electronic Monitoring Documentation of Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis) in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Bottom Longline Fishery. SEDAR79-DW-05. SEDAR, North Charleston, SC. 8 pp. http://sedarweb.org/docs/wpapers/S79_DW_05_CFEMM%20BLL.pdf

Lee, M., C. Neidig, D. Roberts. 2022. Electronic Monitoring Documentation of Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) Catches in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Bottom Longline Fishery. SEDAR74-DW-08. SEDAR, North Charleston, SC. 10 pp.

Lee, M., C. Neidig, K. Harrington. 2022. Electronic Monitoring Documentation of Gray Snapper (Lutjanus griseus) Catches in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Bottom Longline Fishery. SEDAR75-WP-04. SEDAR, North Charleston, SC. 6 pp. http://sedarweb.org/docs/wpapers/S75_WP_04_CFEMM_Gray%20Snapper.pdf

Neidig, C., D. Roberts, M. Lee, R. Schloesser. 2021. Preliminary Non-Technical Fishery Profile and Limited Data Summary for Scamp, Mycteroperca phenax with Focus on the West Florida Shelf: Application of Electronic Monitoring on Commercial Snapper Grouper Bottom Longline Vessels. SEDAR68-DW-22. 8 pp. https://sedarweb.org/docs/wpapers/S68_DW_22_electronic_monitoring.pdf

Lee, M., G. Patrick, C. Neidig, and R. Schloesser. 2021. Hammerhead Shark (Sphyrna spp.) Electronic Monitoring Data Review from the Gulf of Mexico Bottom Longline Reef Fish Fishery. SEDAR77-DW05. SEDAR, North Charleston, SC. 9 pp. https://sedarweb.org/docs/sar/S70_SAR_FINAL.pdf

Neidig, C., M. Lee, R. Schloesser, D. Roberts. 2020. Bottom Longline Discard Summary for Greater Amberjack, Seriola dumerili, with Focus on the West Florida Shelf: Application of Electronic Monitoring. SEDAR70-WP-08. SEDAR, North Charleston, SC. 6 pp.)

Presentations 2020-2022 [* indicates presenter(s)]

C. Neidig*, M. Lee, K. Harrington*. 21 -24 June 2022. Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring at Mote. Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Meeting. Fort Myers, FL. In person. (invited - table display)

M. Lee*, G. Patrick, C. Neidig, R. Schloesser. 15 April 2022. Electronic Monitoring Cooperative Research in the Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Fishery - Hammerhead Shark Catch and Mortality. SEDAR 77.

R. Schloesser*, M. Lee, C. Neidig. 20 March 2022. Hotspot Analysis using Electronic Monitoring. The Hotspots Mapping Initiative Workshop. New Orleans, LA.

C. Neidig*, M. Lee, R. Schloesser. 2 February 2022. Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries. Poster. Oceans Day, Mote Presentations to State Representatives. Tallahassee, FL.

C. Neidig*, M. Lee. 17 November 2021. Building Linkages for Use of Electronic Monitoring and Human Observer Data in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery. Net Gains Alliance (NGA).

C. Neidig*. 12 October 2021. CFEMM Overview of EM Gulf Progress. University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions Workshop.

C. Neidig*. 5 October 2021. Mote Marine Laboratory and Bank of America Online Presentation Series - C. Neidig was recognized as a “Women of Mote - Trailblazer”, in segment two of a three part series. Presentation included EM work, and recognition of NOAA and NFWF support.

C. Neidig*, M. Lee, D. Roberts, R. Schloesser, T. King. 15 September 2021. Electronic Monitoring (EM) Cooperative Research in the Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Fishery - Bycatch, Discards, and Community Structure. NOAA Cooperative Research Program (CRP) National Workshop.

C. Neidig*, Lee, M. and Roberts, D. 21 March 2021. Introduction to Electronic Monitoring-Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring. Global Seafood Alliance's Workshop.

C. Neidig*, D. Roberts, M. Lee, R. Schloesser. 6 October 2020. EM - Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish Fishery. International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) Technology Integration for Fisheries Dependent Data (WGTIFD) Workshop.

C. Neidig*, D. Roberts, M. Lee. 18 August 2020. Eyes on the Gulf of Mexico Snapper-Grouper Fishery - Linking EM Trip Data to Other Commercial Fisheries Data. Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistical Program (ACCSP). Commercial Technical Working Group.