December 28, 2021 — A new digital app that maps lobster fishing activity is expected to help the industry manage interactions with two other users of the ocean — the endangered North Atlantic right whale and the burgeoning offshore wind industry.
Developed by Louisiana technology company Bluefin Data under a contract with the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the app, called VESL, is the result of a required increase in the percentage of lobster harvesters who must submit reports.
The app is being provided for free to commercial fishermen and is meant to simplify required harvest reporting for both state and federally licensed fishermen, according to a news release. The required reporting includes location of fishing activity and pounds landed.
“We decided to develop a new app to make it easier for lobstermen to comply with the new reporting requirement,” the department’s commissioner, Patrick Keliher, said in the release.