COUNTING
FISH:
TESTI
SHIPBOARD
V
BY E-CHING LEE
‘THE OCEAN ISJUSTLIKETHESERENGETI,"
says Recce Hair, a snapper grouper fisherman
based in South Carolina. "Just got water over
the Up of it.”
But that water can obscure a lot of
data. Just ask the South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council. It is working to collect
sufficient information on the snapper grouper
fishery in the region to set and update fishing
regulations.
“We just don’t have the resources to
have that accurate picture of what’s actually
happening on the water.” acknowledges Brian
Cheuvront, the council's fisheries economist.
“Having more accurate estimates of catch
and bycatch could actually help fishermen in
the long run." he continues.
Currently, the SAFMC requires fishermen
in the snapper grouper fishery to self-report
information in logbooks. Human observers are
occasionally placed on a handful of boats to
record data, but there are no dedicated funds for
an observer program for the fishery.
Some snapper grouper permit holders,
including Phil Conklin from South Carolina
and Charlie Phillips from Georgia, asked Sea
Grant fisheries specialists Scott Baker from
North Carolina and Amber Von Harten from
South Carolina to conduct a study to determine
if electronic video monitoring could be a cost-
effective and efficient alternative to those two
methods.
“In theory, it doesn't seem to be as
intrusive as having an observer on your boat,
and management could essentially turn it on
and off when needed.” Baker notes. “It collects
a wealth of information thru hopefully could be
used to benefit the industry."
Kenny Fex from North Carolina and
Mark Mahefka from South Carolina joined
Hair, Conklin and Phillips on the project. For
logistical purposes, this study involved vessels
in the northern half of the SAFMC jurisdiction
aid did not include Florida.
Their work was supported by a Naional
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Cooperative Research Program Grant. This
program encourages collaboration in research
between scientists and fishermen, requiring that
anglers be part of the dala-collection process.
SNAPPER GROUPER PERM
ГТ
HOLDERS ARE
required to keep logbooks for each trip. The
information is used to document fishing effort
and the catch that is landed, which can be
verified when the vessel unloads.
However, there currently is no way to
validate the number of discarded fish reported
in logbooks because this happens at sea.
Furthermore, the data can be inaccurate if the
records arc completed at the end of a trip, long
after fishing is complete. According to Bilker,
for these reasons, scientists are sometimes
hesitant to use the data other than to determine
fishing effort aid landed catch.
Funding from the same cooperative
research program allows scientists to put
observers on a handful of boats, providing a
wealth of information.
"Human observers are considered the gold
standard in terms of what’s happening out there
because it's an independent voice,” Baker says.
But at a cost of more than $1300 per day at
sea per observer, it quickly adds up to a “crazy
amount of money.” At that price, the observer
program is not scalable to the entire fleet.
Still, binding for observers is very limited
and is not guaranteed from year to year. Also,
adding another person to these small fishing
boats is often a challenge.
Enter electronic video monitoring, or EM.
Continued
Clockwise from top left: Theelectronicvideomoritoringcontrolbox,screenandkeyboardareinstolledinthewbeelhouse.
о
Boab from the snapper grouper fleet dock in Southport.
О
Scott Baker installs EM vnringin a vessel nheelhouse.
o Amber Von Harten. Kim Astle and Kenneth Fa prepare cameras for installation,
о
The system shows live imagps
from four cameras,
о
EM cameras are mountedon thevessel so that thereelsare in view,
о
Bandit reels are named for their
resemblance to casinos’ one-armed slot machines.
16 COASTWATCH
AUTUMN 20I2
WWW.NCSEAGRANT.ORG
