August 16, 2021 — A company that got its start in Maine is using artificial intelligence to improve data collection for groundfish fishermen and fisheries management officials.
New England Marine Monitoring’s new technology could eliminate the need for onboard human observers for ground fishermen, resulting in safer, faster, and more accurate and affordable monitoring and data collection, according to CEO Mark Hager.
Currently, the groundfish fishery requires that 40 percent of a fisherman’s trips be monitored, especially with quotas for many groundfish species at historic lows. Traditionally, this monitoring has been done in person, on board the vessel.
But it’s no easy job, which Hager knows firsthand.
Earlier in his career, Hager worked as one of those fisheries observers and would go out on a boat with a crew for weeks at a time.
It’s time-consuming, expensive for the fishermen, and dangerous for everyone on board, particularly on smaller vessels where there’s not as much room to move around.