Commercial Fishing Vessels as Platforms for Coastal Ocean

Research, Monitoring, and Management

Appropriation: $2M for FY00 for the Northeast Consortium (University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) for cooperative research and development of selective fishing gear and the development of programs to utilize commercial fishing vessels in oceanographic research.

Goals

- To develop partnerships between commercial fishermen and researchers, educators, and coastal managers for the collection, real-time telemetry, analysis, assimilation, distribution, and use of oceanographic and fisheries data from coastal regions off the northeastern US.

- To enable commercial fishermen and their vessels to participate in research and development of selective fishing gear to reduce bycatch and facilitate targeted fishing.

- To equip participating commercial fishing vessels with integrated sensor systems (including navigational, hydrographic, and meteorological components); to link them via satellite to land-based centers for collection, analysis and assimilation of data.

The concept

We envision that commercial fishermen and fishing vessels from New Hampshire, Maine, and Massachusetts will become active participants in collaborative research and monitoring projects in the coastal ocean. These activities may provide ancillary employment, on a semi-permanent basis, for 100 or more vessels in the three states. Some vessels will be outfitted for specialized use for collaborative research projects and for research and development on selective fishing gear. Some vessels may be equipped with sensor systems for autonomous collection and telemetry of meteorological (weather) and hydrographic (ocean structure and currents) data. Selective gear research, environmental monitoring, and oceanographic research will be conducted by researchers in partnership with commercial fishermen. The balance of funding will be 25% to research and 75% to industry; funding will be balanced across the entire amount, not project-by-project, to allow flexibility in the design of any particular project.

Priority areas for research and monitoring

Priority areas for allocation of funding will be determined through initial dialogues including all stakeholders: fishermen, researchers, conservationists, the NEFMC, NMFS, and coastal managers. Some possible topics include:

• Selective gear research and development. A significant fraction of the funding will be used for cooperative research and development of selective fishing gear to reduce or eliminate technical barriers to trade, minimize harvest losses, reduce bycatch, and improve fishing practices.



• Oceanographic and meterological monitoring. There is a need for better information on weather, sea-state, and oceanographic conditions, commercial harvest data, and fishing conditions in the coastal waters of the US. This information is required by the fishermen themselves, resource managers and regulators, and the oceanographic research community. Currently, these data are collected during oceanographic research efforts, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) assessment surveys, operational Navy activities, and National Weather Service coverage. These types of activities cannot provide synoptic coverage of large regions and rarely employ near-real-time telemetry. The widespread temporal / spatial distribution of commercial fishing vessels makes them ideal platforms from which to gather basic information for coastal monitoring, modeling, and prediction.



• Monitoring of closed areas. Regular and long-term assessment of environmental condition, biodiversity, oceanographic processes, and fisheries recruitment is required in areas closed to fishing in the coastal waters off the Northeast. Commercial fishermen should participate in this studies, in order to ensure that their extensive knowledge of the historical character of these regions is used to design hypotheses, collect data and samples, and analyze the impacts of area closures. Direct participation by commercial fishermen will also inform them about the changes to the landscape and the biota.



• Fish habitat studies. Commercial fishermen should take advantage of and participate in the growing focus on fish habitat. As the definition of Essential Fish Habitat is refined and habitat-oriented management is fully implemented, the participation of commercial fishermen will improve the accuracy and reliability of the underlying information and increase the effectiveness of new management strategies.

Procedure for distribution of funds

Funds from this initiative will go to the Northeast Consortium (the University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution) to be used for cooperative research and development on selective fishing gear and the development of programs to utilize commercial fishing vessels in oceanographic research.

Cooperative research will be conducted on a number of topics, including: selective fishing gear, fish habitat and recruitment, and coastal ocean monitoring and prediction. Each member of the Consortium will participate in an intial dialogue to evaluate additional priorities for monitoring, research, and development through this initiative. All activities conducted as part of this initiative will entail a full partnership between researchers and fishermen. The funding may be used for purchase and/or installation on the fishing vessel of standard or specialized equipment, training of commercial fishermen, use charges for the vessel, etc. Multiple-year projects, ensuring the long-term involvement of the commercial fishing partner, will be encouraged. The significance of the research and the potential impact on and benefit to the commercial fishing community will be among the criteria for evaluation.

Long-term goal

Research and monitoring activities in the coastal ocean may become an ancillary livelihood for commercial fishermen. In the near term, these activities may replace some commercial fishing activities curtailed by areal closures and limits on target species. After an initial federal investment in education for fishermen, establishing partnerships, and equipping vessels, these activities may be commercially sustainable through contract research for environmental monitoring and assessment and through partnerships with oceanographers engaged in grant-funded research projects. A concomitant goal is to further educate fishermen for wiser use of our living resources and for full partnership in the management and regulation of the fisheries of the future.

Demonstration of the technical and sociological feasibility of some aspects of this proposal has been achieved by prior activities of the Northeast Consortium members, includes the University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In particular, a project funded by the National Ocean Partnership Program, Oceanographic and Fisheries Data Collection and Telemetry From Commercial Fishing Vessels, may serve as a pilot project for this type of efforts. Reports of this project and other activities are available upon request.

Consortium representatives:

Ann Bucklin, Professor and Director
University of New Hampshire Sea Grant Program
Durham, NH 03824
Tel: (603) 862-0122; Fax: (603) 862-0243; email: acb@christa.unh.edu

Peter H. Wiebe, Senior Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole, MA 02543
Tel: (508) 289-2313; Fax: (508) 457-2169; email: pwiebe@whoi.edu

Chrys Chryssostomidis, Professor and Director
MIT Sea Grant Program
292 Main Street
Cambridge, MA 02139
Tel. (617) 253-7131; FAX: (617) 258-5730; email chrys@deslab.mit.edu

Ian Davison, Professor and Director
University of Maine Sea Grant College Program
14 Coburn Hall
Orono, ME 04469
Tel: (207) 581-1435; Fax (207) 581-1426; email: davison@maine.maine.edu

Contact person:

Rollie Barnaby
University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension
North Road, Brentwood NH 03833
Tel: 603-679-5616
FAX: 603-679-8070
email: rollie.barnaby@unh.edu