An estimated 26 million metric tonnes of fish are lost every year to a cycle of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU). This figure reflects a gaping hole in fisheries management: the majority of the ocean and its fisheries remain unmonitored, leaving whole ecosystems vulnerable to collapse.
This is why fishing vessels are increasingly moving under the digital gaze of a growing array of satellites, planes and drones that track their position and behaviour. One growing player in this surveillance space is known as Electronic Monitoring or EM, and involves onboard cameras filming fishing activity.
The system was thrown into the spotlight by the pandemic last year, when it became clear that it could become a powerful potential replacement for human observers on boats, who had to suspend their jobs due to travel restrictions.
Now, EM is at a turning point. “Digitisation is really, really important, in this field in particular,” says Peter Horn, director of the Ending Illegal Fishing Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
But what has EM technology achieved so far? Where is it headed next? And does it signal a shift towards total dependence on technology to manage fisheries?
What is Electronic Monitoring?
In its most basic form, EM means onboard cameras recording as crew members fish and haul in catches. The video is then stored on a hard drive for later analysis by fisheries managers ashore. More advanced EM systems include sensors and lasers that detect the motion of fishing gear, triggering the cameras. Captured video can be paired with data from vessel monitoring systems (VMSs), which track boats’ locations via satellites. This way, EM can help produce information not only about the location and movement of the vessel, but also about the species it’s catching.
The EM job has traditionally been fulfilled by human fisheries observers, who can spend months out at sea recording fishing activity in logbooks. In the last 20 years, the digital equivalents have become increasingly attractive.
What information does EM gather?
Cameras, constantly focussed on a vessel’s activities, can provide evidence of illegal fishing. That might include revealing where fishers catch more than their quota; where they bring aboard species that are off limits; where illegal bycatch (fish outside the quota accidentally netted); and where catch discard occur. Cameras may reveal illegal shipments transferred between vessels. Surveillance could also be used to reveal abuses of labour regulations and human rights. Analysis of this extensive video could identify details such as the species composition of a catch and the size of fish hauled aboard, factors that may also help to determine the health of fish populations for conservation purposes.
Why do we need EM?
The challenges of Covid-19 have shown how electronic monitoring can work: fisheries monitoring was too important to the ocean’s health to be stopped. EM provides a way for it to work even when humans can’t.
Even in ordinary times, there are good reasons to embrace EM. Installing cameras on boats is more cost-effective than employing human observers, who require salaries and living costs for months of work at sea. Studies have shown that digital systems can cost between 15% and 50% less than human observers. Camera systems don’t need to sleep. Because they’re constantly on, they can gather round-the-clock information, generating a more comprehensive picture of fishing activity.
By capturing a more or less complete visual record, EM can also reduce the risk of error, bribery and corruption. (Although humans are still required to analyse and report data, so EM doesn’t completely remove such risks.) Because it’s cost-efficient and easy to install, EM could quickly become more widespread on fishing vessels, especially those on remote waters and where human observers are scarce. EM is more likely to move the industry closer to the ultimate goal of 100% fisheries monitoring, compared to human observers who are estimated to currently monitor less than 2% of global fisheries.
Without EM on board, retailers simply cannot say to customers with any level of confidence that seafood products they are selling have been harvested legally, sustainably and without labour abuses
“The reality today is that without EM on board, in many fisheries around the world, suppliers and retailers simply cannot say to customers with any level of confidence that seafood products they are selling have been harvested legally, sustainably and without labour abuses,” says Mark Zimring, director of the Large Scale Fisheries Program at The Nature Conservancy.
How could EM improve fisheries management and conservation?
Over the longer term, EM could build up an extensive record of fisheries data allowing the creation of better informed and more responsive fishing policies. “What I’m excited about is the possibility of highly accurate logbook data, which is essentially what EM can be,” says David Kroodsma, director of research and innovation at Global Fishing Watch. “If we know what a few vessels on the water are catching when they are fishing in a given location, and we can combine this data with vessel movement data, it may be possible to make better models that predict a vessel’s risk of bycatch.” That could translate to protective fishing regulations in some regions. Such expansive datasets could also be used to reliably identify environmentally stable fisheries. That could increase the uptake of eco-labelling, and perhaps encourage appetite for sustainable seafood.
Is there evidence that it works?
Yes, although more studies are needed. One in 2019 showed that captains on Australian vessels retrofitted with cameras reported more discarded catch and interactions with protected species such as seabirds and turtles than those on vessels without the tech, suggesting crew felt more obliged to accurately report their activities.
Meanwhile, recent data from EM trials in Micronesia, Palau and the Marshall Islands showed that video footage from EM-fitted vessels identified significantly higher catch than vessels carrying only a logbook. By helping to form a more realistic picture of what a vessel lands, EM could be a tool to curb overfishing.
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May 26, 2021 at 10:00PM
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Explainer: Electronic Monitoring on fishing boats - chinadialogue ocean
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