Search Results for: ropeless fishing

Gear-lending program has harvesters working through closures and trying ropeless fishing gear without commitment

Snow crab fishers in one area of Nova Scotia had a new visitor this season and found themselves closed out of their fishing waters. “We got a 37 percent cut in our quota and [Northern right] whales presented themselves in our zone for the first time ever so [it was] quite stressful,” said Marc Lefort, a snow crab harvester in western Cape Breton Island and a member of Area 19 Snow Crab Fishermen’s Association in Cheticamp, N.S. He’s been fishing for 19 years in the area. “It was a challenging season.” The Northern right whale is critically endangered and conservation efforts have targeted fisheries using fixed gear, or traps connected to buoys by rope. Because whales can be entangled in the fishing gear, fisheries for lobster and snow crab have been forced to think of new measures – and new fishing gear – to protect the marine mammals. >>click to read<< 12:24

A discussion – Costs of using ropeless fishing gear could sink MA lobster fishery: new report

Experts often say the lobster fishery will have to move to innovative “ropeless” fishing gear to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement. There fewer than 340 of the critically endangered whales left. But a new report says Massachusetts lobstermen may be headed for troubled economic waters if they make the switch. But here’s what’s really crazy: the state found that even if lobstermen were just given the on-demand gear for free, using government and nonprofit subsidies, they would still go from making $15 million per year in revenue to just $2 million in revenue per year. And the biggest impacts would be on smaller, more independent operators. I talked to the report author about this, Noah Oppenhiem. He said for lobstermen that only fish only a couple traps per vertical line, they’d go from needing 6 and a half minutes to haul up some lobsters to 11 and a half minutes. >click to read< 11:56

Mass DMF’s On-Demand Fishing Gear Economic Modeling Report Released – >Click to read<

Innovative ropeless fishing gear helps prevent whale entanglements

When fishing zones get closed down due to whale sightings, fish harvesters now have a new place to turn. Can Fish is a program set up by the Canadian Wildlife Federation to allow fishers to test out and use groundbreaking ropeless technology for free. The North Atlantic right whale is one of many marine species being impacted by the changing ocean temperatures in a warming world. The whales have been swimming northward moving from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,,, The Canadian Wildlife federation is trying to lessen this risk by popularizing the use of ropeless fishing gear through its newly introduced Can Fish program. At a warehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia, fish harvesters can show up and borrow innovative ropeless fishing gear for free. The catch? These fishers need to provide data collected as they use the innovative technology in order to help build future designs of the equipment. Video, photos, >click to read< 17:30

NOAA lays out plans for expanded testing of ropeless fishing technology

In an effort to address the two main causes of human-induced whale mortality, vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released rules to reduce ship speeds and its “Ropeless Roadmap” to prepare for widespread adoption of ropeless fishing. The vertical lines that connect strings of traps on the ocean floor to buoys on the surface can get caught on a whale’s fins or in its mouth as it swims, leading to death in some cases. There are fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales, according to NOAA. On-demand fishing gear would eliminate the need for the vertical lines in the water until the lobster trap, pot or gillnet is being hauled. >click to read< 15:50

Massachusetts DMF’s Ropeless Fishing Gear Feasibility Report Released

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has completed the first phase of a two-year project, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to comprehensively characterize the issues and challenges associated with the integration of on-demand fishing gear technology into New England lobster fisheries. On-demand fishing gear, also known as ‘ropeless gear,’ is a type of fishing gear used in ‘fixed gear’ fisheries, or fisheries that use equipment that is left, or ‘fixed’, in place over time to capture fish. On-demand fishing gear replaces traditional vertical buoy lines, which can result in entanglements with marine mammals including North Atlantic right whales, with new gear retrieval and marking methods.  >click to read, and access the report< Assessing the Feasibility of On-Demand Gear in New England Lobster Fisheries, 16:40

DMF’s Ropeless Fishing Gear Feasibility Report Released

The first phase of a two-year project evaluating the operational, technological, legal/regulatory, and socioeconomic challenges and opportunities of alternative lobster gear is complete. 

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has completed the first phase of a two-year project, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to comprehensively characterize the issues and challenges associated with the integration of on-demand fishing gear technology into New England lobster fisheries.

On-demand fishing gear, also known as ‘ropeless gear,’ is a type of fishing gear used in ‘fixed gear’ fisheries, or fisheries that use equipment that is left, or ‘fixed’, in place over time to capture fish. On-demand fishing gear replaces traditional vertical buoy lines, which can result in entanglements with marine mammals including North Atlantic right whales, with new gear retrieval and marking methods. Most on-demand fishing gear systems consist of submerged buoyancy devices that are activated using time-release mechanisms or acoustic signals transmitted from the surface.

In our report, Assessing the Feasibility of On-Demand Gear in New England Lobster Fisheries, we present an up-to-date assessment of the issues and make a series of recommendations for researchers and policymakers who are working on on-demand gear. The report, authored by DMF contractor Noah Oppenheim of Homarus Strategies LLC, contains information gleaned from over 130 hours of interviews and a two-day workshop with dozens of experts including fishermen, conservationists, law enforcement professionals, fishery managers, and scientists participating.

During phase two of the project, which will take place over the course of 2022, DMF will take a deep dive into the socioeconomic issues of on-demand fishing gear, producing a first of its kind model capable of providing economic welfare and cost impact estimates for lobster fisheries under various on-demand fishing gear management and implementation scenarios.

DMF and all our stakeholders are leading the way towards an even more prosperous, sustainable, and environmentally protective ocean management system. If you would like to learn more about this project please contact [email protected].

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

251 Causeway Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114

(617) 626-1520  |  Contact Us  |  Find a Location

Despite threats from fellow fishermen, Mass lobstermen press to allow ropeless fishing in closed areas

The lobstermen viewed themselves as trailblazers, even calling themselves “Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence”. In an effort to prove that there’s a way for their industry to resume fishing in coastal waters where Massachusetts banned lobstering to protect endangered whales, they have asked regulators to allow them to set their traps without vertical buoy lines. “I’ve been trying my best to get our guy’s back fishing,” said Michael Lane, 46, a lobsterman who fishes 800 traps out of Cohasset. But when Lane’s group presented at a recent public hearing their proposal to fish with experimental rope less gear, which would use remotely triggered inflatable balloons or other devices to surface the traps, they were pilloried by their fellow fishermen. >click to read< 19:20

Lobsterman v. Lobsterman – Ropeless Fishing Divides Industry

At a virtual hearing last night, the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF), presented the case of five commercial lobstermen who are seeking a Letter of Authorization to test the controversial equipment,,, But nearly 20 commercial lobstermen at the meeting said they were opposed for multiple reasons. Many said testing the gear during the closure puts the entire fishery at risk if a whale does get entangled. >click to read< 07:55

Massachusetts: ‘Pioneer’ lobstermen want to use ropeless fishing gear during seasonal closure

A group of five commercial lobstermen who call themselves “The Pioneers for a Thoughtful Co-Existence” are seeking state permission to use “ropeless” fishing gear in state waters during a seasonal closure that was designed to protect critically endangered right whales from entanglement. If approved by the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF), it would mark the first time in years that lobstermen could fish in state waters during the seasonal closure. At a virtual public hearing on Wednesday at 6 p.m., the state will seek feedback from lobstermen, scallopers, clam dredgers, and others who may be affected by the authorization. >click to read< 07:55

Proposal for Authorization to Conduct Ropeless Fishing Activity Within Mass Trap Gear Closure Area

The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has received a proposal from the Pioneers for a Thoughtful Co Existence, Inc. (“Pioneers”) for a Scientific Project Permit and Letter of Authorization. The Pioneers—collaborating with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare—seek to fish so-called “ropeless” lobster trap gear through the use of on-demand vertical buoy line systems affixed to their trap gear. >click to read< 15:47

Proposal for Authorization to Conduct Ropeless Fishing Activity Within Massachusetts Trap Gear Closure Area

Proposal for Authorization to Conduct Ropeless Fishing Activity Within Certain Areas of the Massachusetts Trap Gear Closure Area Using On-Demand Vertical Buoy Lines Systems

The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has received a proposal from the Pioneers for a Thoughtful Co Existence, Inc. (“Pioneers”) for a Scientific Project Permit and Letter of Authorization. The Pioneers—collaborating with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, and the International Fund for Animal Welfare—seek to fish so-called “ropeless” lobster trap gear through the use of on-demand vertical buoy line systems affixed to their trap gear. This fishing activity will occur within two discrete areas near Boston Harbor and along the South Shore during the state’s seasonal (February 1 – May 15) commercial trap gear closure. The full proposal may be found on DMF’s website.

In summary, the purpose of this activity is to study location marking and transmission capabilities among vessels using the trap tracker application. This will help in the development of expert opinions on the technical usability and reliability of the technology in the inshore lobster trap fishery and evaluate gear visibility to better understand the potential for gear conflicts. The study is also designed to describe the performance of the gear and unintended movements during winter weather events and to continue investigations into command failures, hauling malfunctions, storage challenges, and catch deterrents associated with the deployment of this technology.

DMF will present the Pioneer’s proposal to the public at a virtual public hearing on Wednesday, January 12, 2022 at 6PM. The hearing will provide the public and interested stakeholders with an opportunity to learn about this proposed study and ask questions. DMF is also seeking comments from all stakeholders, including: lobstermen involved with the project and those not involved; mobile gear fishermen (scallopers, draggers, clam dredgers) who may legally fish in the area but may not be able to detect the presence of the buoy-less gear; and other interested members of the public. The comment received from the public will help inform DMF’s action on the issuance of a Scientific Project Permit and Letter of Authorization. Verbal comment may be provided at the public hearing. Written comment will be accepted close of business on Monday, January 16, 2022. Written public comment can be submitted by e-mail ([email protected]) or post (251 Causeway Street, Boston, MA 02114). Please direct all public comment to the attention of Director Daniel McKiernan.

Public Hearing Schedule
6PM
January 12, 2022
Via Zoom Webinar
Pre-Register Here:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_WCwVIV6WS02R7HyRvsxdRw

Taking a Pause – Ropeless fishing gear bill gets put on hold

The legislative push for ropeless gear in the Dungeness crab fishing industry is taking a pause after the Assembly bill’s author was sworn in as California’s 34th attorney general. Authored by Assembly member Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) in collaboration with Social Compassion in Legislation and the Center for Biological Diversity, the bill argued that fishermen use antiquated trapping gear that harms marine life. California Coast Crab Association President Benjamin Platt said the Center for Biological Diversity “lobbied hard to find somebody else to carry that bill. Platt calls the pause on the Whale Entangle Prevention Act a “David and Goliath moment for California fishers.” >click to read< 07:46

Ropeless fishing gear: Georgia researchers work with commercial fishermen to test equipment

NOAA has identified two areas critical for right whales: off the coast of New England, where the whales forage for food in warmer months; and off the southeast coast from North Carolina to Florida, where the whales reproduce between November and April. Fluech is collaborating with Kim Sawicki, project lead and doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts,, In summer 2020, the research team secured a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service to test eight different ropeless gear systems with black sea bass pots off the coast of Georgia. It was the first time the ropeless gear had been tested in the South Atlantic. >click to read< 08:37

Ropeless Fishing Shows Promise, But There’s a Catch: Financial, Safety, Technology Challenges

On a cold January morning, a lobster trap sitting on a table at a manufacturing facility in Wareham is rhythmically beeping. Two final beeps have a special meaning. “So that’s the release confirmation,” explained Rob Morris, who sells acoustic release systems for the underwater technology company EdgeTech.  These “ropeless” systems do away with the high number of vertical lines that run from buoys on the surface down to traps on the ocean floor. Looking at this table, Morris sees the future of the fishery, and many conservationists share that hope. Ropeless fishing eliminates vertical lines in the water column that are blamed for around half of all reported North Atlantic right whale deaths. >click to read< 10:22

More ropeless fishing “experiments” happening on Eastern seaboard as industry leaders meet.

Sean Brillant, who works for the Canadian Wildlife Federation and is chair of the Ropeless Consortium, said they are approaching roughly 1,000 trials across the Eastern Seaboard, the bulk of which has been done in the last 12 months. “Two years ago, we were just getting laughed in our faces at the idea of doing this,” Brillant said. The methods being tested include techniques that allow a line to be stored with a trap at the ocean bottom, and then released to the surface only when a fisherman is ready to haul in their catch. The aim is to cut the risk that whales will be caught in long lengths of rope floating in the water. >click to read< 09:05

Ropeless fishing gear won’t save whales

If you live in one of California’s historic fishing communities like Bodega Bay, (or Coastal New England) you’ve probably heard the term “ropeless” crab fishing gear. That’s the new buzzword for equipment being promoted by environmental groups to solve the perceived problem of whale interactions with fishing gear. These groups have convinced the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to adopt onerous new regulations that will force crab fishermen to adopt expensive, impractical and unproven fishing gear that will put most of us out of business. The truth, however, is something different.  How do we know this? Both the East Coast lobster fishery and the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery, each of which are made up of thousands of independent fishermen, have tested the pop-up ropeless gear and found it to be faulty. >click to read< 09:54

Ropeless Fishing! Marina firm develops tech that could help whale entanglement

The Ropeless Fisher System, or pop-up system, contains a netting device holding buoys that are attached to the crab pot. When the fishermen on the surface are ready to check the traps, they use a simple app that triggers a device that sends out sonar waves that activates a release mechanism and the buoys pop up to the surface carrying the connecting rope. Marco Flagg, the CEO of Desert Star, said his technology is already being deployed in crab and lobster fisheries along the eastern U.S. coast, Nova Scotia and New South Wales, Australia. >click to read< >click to read archived ropeless fishing articles< 11:16

Ropeless Fishing Gear: Scottish tests of ‘whale-friendly’ fishing creels

Fishing gear designed to protect whales from entanglement is being trialled off Scotland’s coast. Whales can become caught in rope that runs between shellfish creels on the seabed to a buoy on the surface. The new “ropeless creels” have this main line in a container along with a buoy and these are lowered to the seabed with the creels. >click to read<  08:10

Ropeless Fishing Gear: New Crab Pot Could Help Reduce Whale Entanglements

Last year 46 whale entanglements were reported off the West Coast, and crab gear was responsible for about a third of them. According to Derek Orner, a bycatch reduction program coordinator with the National Marine Fisheries Service, this a growing problem,,, His agency recently announced grants for several ropeless fishing gear projects, including a new kind of crab pot developed by Coastal Monitoring Associates of California. >click to read< 09:43

Massachusetts Lobstermen Test Ropeless Fishing Gear to Save Right Whales

Researchers say conservationists and the fishing industry must work together to save the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. Only about 400 of these whales are left living in the wild, and scientists say human activity is to blame. Proposed federal regulations,,, But these measures drastically reduce the number of lines lobstermen are allowed to have in the water. That’s why Massachusetts lobstermen are eager to try new technology that would enable them to set their traps without a vertical line. Patrick Ramage is director of marine conservation for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.,,, >click to read<10:33

Ropeless Fishing Gear Could Aid Maine’s Lobster Industry, Endangered Whales>click to read<

Ropeless Fishing: ‘We’ve got to do our part’ to prevent right whale deaths, Yes! Slow ships down

As a Halifax-based company seeks input from the fishing community for a prototype of ropeless fishing gear, a New Brunswick fisherman has another idea about how to decrease the dangers to North Atlantic right whales. “People should slow down and be more careful,” says lobster fisherman Jean-Guy Gallant.,,, While Gallant fishes the Northumberland Strait – which is not in the same area several of the endangered whales have been found dead – he says he has concerns about going ropeless. “What happens if the mechanism doesn’t work?” he asks. “The trap will stay on the bottom so we won’t be able to fish it.” >click to read<

Testing ropeless fishing gear

A test of ropeless fishing gear could protect the livelihoods of lobster fishermen and lives of North Atlantic right whales. Industry is totally against this, Lobsterman David Casoni announced from his Margaret M fishing boat tied up at the dock of the Sandwich Marina, Gear manufacturer Marco Flagg had stepped aboard holding his cylinder attached to a mesh bag filled with rope and floats. But, Casoni said, the states 1200 commercial lobstermen could be interested in the equipment under certain conditions. >click to read<08:54

How ropeless fishing traps could protect North Atlantic right whales — and the fishing industry

Tensions between Atlantic fishermen and conservationists escalated this week as the Department of Oceans and Fisheries closed six fishing grounds off the coasts of New Brunswick and Quebec.,, The whales’ arrival left many Canadian fishermen scrambling to remove their equipment from the affected waters amidst concern over what the closures could mean for their quotas. But scientist and veterinarian Michael Moore is advocating for a new technology that could appease both groups: ropeless fishing traps. >click to read<Who is Michael Moore, >click to read<09:52

New Brunswick Crab fishermen to test ropeless fishing

New Brunswick snow crab fishermen will test two ropeless trap methods this spring to reduce the use of the fishing rope blamed in the deaths of two North Atlantic right whales last year.,,Mark Baumgartner, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, said ropeless fishing is the solution to the entanglement problem.,, Robert Haché, director general of the Acadian Crabbers Association, said the fishermen want to do all they can to prevent entanglements.,, The techniques to be tested this season will be from U.S.-based technology and research companies, Haché said. >click to read< 10:13

SMU students hoping to save whales with ropeless fishing gear

A trio of graduate students at Saint Mary’s University is building a fishing gear prototype that could help lobster and crab fishermen save money by reducing lost traps and save whales and other marine life from becoming entangled in ropes. Ross Arsenault and Aaron Stevenson are in the two-year masters of technology entrepreneurship and innovation program, while Maxwell Poole is taking a masters of applied health services research.,,, Then, the students heard about the crisis facing the endangered North Atlantic right whale, which was dying in record numbers in Canadian waters last year. >click to read< 18:28

NOAA wants to expand ‘ropeless’ fishing gear pilot to include some Maine lobstermen

Last winter as part of a pilot project, some Massachusetts lobstermen were allowed to fish in areas that are seasonally closed to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales. But they had to use so-called “on-demand” or “ropeless” fishing gear and work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to share their feedback. Now NOAA wants to expand the program to include lobster and other fixed-gear fishermen throughout New England. Federal officials have proposed issuing permits to more than 200 people, with priority given to those who fish closed areas during the winter. More than 100 people in Maine fish those closed areas. And fishermen aren’t thrilled with the idea of opening access to only some of them, said Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association — unless there’s enough on-demand gear to go around to everyone. >click to read< 10:00

‘Ropeless’ Fishing Gear Aims to Protect Whales, But Adds Complications, Costs

Using federal experimental fishing permits, three Port Judith-based lobstermen are struggling to use the new gear, borrowed from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a branch of NOAA Fisheries. On a recent sunny April morning, Richard Lodge and his sea dogs Rudder and Dory were preparing to embark from his dock at Point Judith on his boat Select for a day of lobster fishing using the experimental gear. “Ropeless technology is excessive; I honestly don’t think it is necessary,” Lodge said. “This is a solution to a problem that isn’t there.” He and other Point Judith-based lobstermen said that in decades of time at sea, they don’t know of one instance in which whales were entangled in their lines. >click to read< 09:40

Feds authorize 5-day period for ropeless lobster fishing in Massachusetts Bay

Federal officials gave Massachusetts lobstermen a temporary exemption Tuesday to allow them to use ropeless lobster gear in a restricted area of the Massachusetts Bay through Saturday after state regulators rejected a similar proposal earlier this month. The exempted fishing permit was issued to a group of lobstermen organized under the name “Pioneers for a Thoughtful Coexistence,” who had asked regulators to allow them to set as many as 200 ropeless traps in areas along the South Shore, where lobster fishing is closed three months a year. >click to read< 07:48

R.I. innovator develops ‘ropeless’ lobster fishing technology

Traditional lobster and crab traps operate through a simple mechanism, using ropes and buoys. Vincent “Bud” Harold, president of DBV Technology LLC in North Kingstown, believes he has the solution: one of his company’s signature products, the RISER. While traditional lobster and crab traps are rigged by rope to a buoy, the Ropeless RISER uses underwater acoustics to send signals from a fishing vessel to gear on the ocean floor. This signal triggers an underwater bag on the trap to inflate with air,,, >click to read< 14:41

National: Legal Petition Seeks Federal Ropeless Rule to Save Whales, Turtles From Fishing Gear

The Center for Biological Diversity formally petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service to require crab, lobster and other trap fisheries to convert to new ropeless or “pop-up” gear within the next five years. The petition requests that the agency prioritize the transition in national marine sanctuaries.,, The proposed change would protect whales and other animals from entanglements in California’s Dungeness crab fishery, New England’s lobster fishery, the stone crab fishery in the Gulf of Mexico, and others. >click to read< 07:17