CHATHAM – The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance has been selected to participate in a pilot program designed to revive traditional fishing customs through the use of innovative technologies.
The Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) allows fishermen from Cape Cod to Maine to utilize an electronic monitoring program to catch groundfish and Bluefin tuna on the same trip.
“That technology is a camera system that gets set up on the boat to record what’s being caught and discarded,” explained Melissa Sanderson, the alliance’s chief operating officer.
“The boats that are participating in this opportunity with the bluefin tuna already agreed to have the cameras on the boat to count their groundfish.”
Generally fishermen are only allowed to catch one of the species on a single trip.
“Traditionally, small-boat fishermen were able to access a diversity of species on a single trip, including tuna and groundfish, increasing their efficiency and making their business models work,” said John Pappalardo, Chief Executive Officer of the Fishermen’s Alliance.
“A typical fall trip for these fishermen in the 1980s would have included groundfish, like cod or haddock, and one or two tuna. The EFP is really allowing participants to exchange full accountability for increased flexibility and efficiency,” he continued.
“That flexibility could make expanded accountability a worthwhile investment for fishing businesses instead of an added expense.”
The participating fishermen will run cameras on all of their trips with groundfish gear on the boat. A third-party monitoring service provider will review all of the footage and share the data with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Other fishermen have human monitors on their boats to validate catches on 16 percent of trips.
“We wanted the opportunity to waste less time and fuel, landing a tuna or two while already out at sea fishing for groundfish, since we have the technology aboard to prove how we caught the tuna,” said Nick Muto of Brewster, captain of the F/V Dawn T.
The project also advances electronic monitoring in the region. It is part of a larger regional electronic monitoring program that includes 15 vessels from five sectors, using four gear types and from four states.
The year-long program will begin on January 1st, 2018.
By DAVID BEATTY, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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