Data dilemma for fishermen: "If you don’t measure it you can’t manage it."

Brief overview of Remote Electronic Monitoring. If you don't measure it you can't manage it. from Funding Fish on Vimeo.


As commitment grows across Europe to comply with the law and implement fully documented fisheries we explore the challenges and the opportunities
Europe has moved from a fisheries management system that counts fish brought ashore to counting fish brought on board the vessel (the legal requirement states catches “must count against quotas and be accurately documented for example by CCTV”). This new system of full catch accountability is a fundamental change.

In the past when a Member State exceeded their quota they had to pay it back, now with full catch accountability Member States are obliged to monitor their fleets and hence avoid exceeding it.

In addition seafood processors, retailers and consumers want to be confident their seafood is from sustainable, well managed stocks and legally compliant fisheries. While fully documented fisheries can play a role here ironically the lack of it risks making the fishing illegal as it is required by law.

As you can see this is complicated, however it also provides opportunities. This report looks at these issues in more detail, exploring the challenges and opportunities.

Extracts from FundingFish.eu. 

FundingFish are a UK registered charity.

"In 2015 a handful of philanthropic foundations came together to benefit from working more closely and pooling resources."

FundingFish was established by Tristram Lewis in 2015 and he now heads up the funders collaborative. The aim of FundingFish is to drive the implementation of the Common Fisheries Policy in order to achieve healthy marine ecosystems in Europe

NFWF Announces Nearly $3.8 Million in Grants to Support Electronic Technologies in U. S. Fisheries

Foundation awards 15 grants to modernise fisheries data collection, storage and management in nine fisheries


​WASHINGTON, D.C. (November 15, 2018) –The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) today announced 15 grants totalling $3.78 million to update fishery data collection and management using electronic technologies in fisheries in 10 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. The grants will generate more than $5 million in matching contributions – which include in-kind and financial support from recipients and industry partners – for a total conservation impact of over $8.8 million.

The grants were awarded through the Electronic Monitoring and Reporting (EMR) Grant Program, a partnership between NFWF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the Kingfisher Foundation. This year’s projects will integrate electronic technology into fisheries data collection and integrate modernised data management systems.

“The grants announced today will increase the number of vessels using electronic technologies and will improve management, review and storage of data to support sustainable fisheries,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “Supporting projects that work with fishermen across the country to adopt and expand the use of effective electronic technologies will provide long-term benefits for these fisheries.”

The 15 grants awarded today will address monitoring and data management needs in nine fisheries in Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The funded projects will advance development of electronic monitoring and reporting systems, initiate pilot projects in new fisheries, expand adoption in fisheries already using electronic technology, and modernise data management and review processes to support management of recreational and commercial fisheries.

"We are committed to implementing electronic technologies in collaboration with NFWF, fishermen, partner organisations, and the regional fishery management councils.” Said Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator, NOAA Fisheries. “Results from these grants will improve on the water and shoreside use of these technologies in support of our sustainable fisheries management goals."

In the New England groundfish fishery and the Alaska pot cod fishery, grants will advance electronic monitoring and reporting tools to improve data accuracy for commercial fisheries. Pilot projects will test electronic technologies in new fisheries including the Alaska pollock fishery, the Gulf of Mexico highly migratory species fishery, Hawaii longline fisheries and small-scale fisheries in Puerto Rico. Several projects will address recreational fishery reporting needs in New England and the Gulf of Mexico. Additional projects in New England will improve data management technology.

Sustainable, prosperous fisheries need timely and reliable data,” said Kristine Johnson, executive director of the Kingfisher Foundation. “Electronic technologies are an essential component of systems that efficiently meet the information needs of fishery managers, scientists and fishermen. We are excited to partner with NFWF on supporting innovative projects to collect, use and manage data, empowering fishers and managers to enhance the sustainability of U.S. fisheries.”

The EMR Grant Program was established in 2015 to advance NOAA’s sustainable fisheries goals to partner with fishermen and other stakeholders, state agencies and Fishery Information Networks to integrate technology into fisheries data collection and observations. To date, the program has awarded more than $13.8 million to 43 projects in U.S. fisheries. Congress appropriated $3.5M to NOAA Fisheries for this Program in 2018 which was a $500,000 increase over previous years.

A complete list of the 2018 grants made through the Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant Program is available here.

About the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Chartered by Congress in 1984, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) protects and restores the nation’s fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Working with federal, corporate and individual partners, NFWF has funded more than 4,500 organizations and generated a conservation impact of more than $4.8 billion. Learn more at www.nfwf.org.

About the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA's mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and our other social media channels​.

About the Kingfisher Foundation

Kingfisher is a small family foundation based in San Francisco. The foundation works to implement sound fishing management rules and methods that align long term economic prosperity for fishers with good stewardship and sustainable fishing. Themes include:

• ​Rebuilding fish populations, “right sizing” fishing capacity and creating durable fishing access rights in the US.  

• Harnessing technology innovations and modern information policies to drive sound data driven monitoring and management of commercial and recreational fisheries and enable innovative, resilient fishing businesses. 

• Strengthening distant water fleet management policies (national fleets that fish in the high seas (60% of the ocean) or in other countries exclusive economic zones (40% of the ocean)) in E. Asia (specifically, S. Korea, Japan and Taiwan).  

• Kingfisher works with and funds a range of advisors, conservation groups, academic institutions and other foundations to accomplish its goals. The complex and systemic challenges of fisheries mean that a range of expertise, relationships and resources are required for progress.

The foundation accepts proposals by invitation only.

Full story courtesy of the The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation

Catalyzing the Growth of Electronic Monitoring in Fisheries

Once seen as the epitome of the devil incarnate EM (Electronic ~Monitoring) many fishermen are now coming round to the idea that EM is the only way they can protect their futures by arming themselves with hard evidence to back up the claims of fishing viability in an increasingly hostile world. From across the pond comes an in-depth and revealing report on the impact EM is having on the west coast of the USA.

The Nature Conservancy and California Environmental Associates have released an outstanding new report.  Here is some introductory language:

This paper presents a brief overview of the current state of EM, the benefits of the technology, and the main barriers to broader adoption, as well as a set of recommendations to help catalyse the growth of EM in fisheries. Recommendations are organised around the primary barriers to adoption presented in the paper, and a set of overarching near-term priorities for catalysing the growth of EM are offered at the end of the report. More than 40 EM experts representing NGOs, foundations, regulators, seafood and catch-sector companies, and EM providers were interviewed as a part of this project, and their perspectives have been invaluable in synthesizing the current state of EM and collating a set of recommendations for advancing the tool. These perspectives have been supplemented with a review of the EM literature. We hope the findings in this report will spur further conversations about the role of EM in improving fisheries management and delivering value to the seafood industry, and help build alignment within the fisheries stakeholder community around how best to advance this tool.

EM Information is a joint project of Environmental Defense Fund, Fieldwork Communications LLC, George LaPointe Consulting LLC, Lowman & Associates, and a growing number of EM & ER innovators from around the world. We welcome your questions and participation. Please reach us at info@eminformation.com.

Further information and all the latest EM news from the EM website can be found here: