On 4/10/2024, the OptiFish partner SINTEF Ocean organized a workshop at its offices in Bergen, Norway bringing together researchers from SINTEF Ocean, the Institute of Marine Research, and the Norwegian Directorate of fisheries. The experts shared their insights and perspectives on automatic catch monitoring techniques in fisheries. The workshop was a joint action between the OptiFish and EVERYFISH projects.
Purpose of the Workshop
The purpose and method of the workshop was the same as the ones previously held with fisheries and policy-makers in Norway, Denmark, Spain, and Türkiye. The participants envisioned a world where automatic catch registration has been successfully implemented on fishing vessels, providing us with reliable data from the fisheries to be used in resource control, quota setting, and ecosystem monitoring. During the event, the main question guided the discussion was: “Imagine a future where automatic catch registration has been successfully implemented. How did we get here?”.
Stakeholder Analysis: Mapping Out Key Players
Conceptual Mind Map: Visualising the Future
Following the stakeholder analysis, attendees were engaged in a collaborative effort to create a conceptual mind map. This visual representation highlighted various factors and variables that could impact the implementation of automatic catch registration technologies in European fisheries. The tool was structured around seven pre-determined drivers: Technology, Regulations, Access to areas, Market, Quality of life, Research, and Climate change. Participants discussed how various factors and variables related to achieving automatic catch registration in an imagined future connect to these drivers and to each other. To illustrate these relationships, arrows were drawn between the variables, depicting the complex network.
Addressing Secure Data Sharing and Trust
A significant point of discussion was the need for secure data sharing mechanisms. Participants highlighted the critical need for trust in the automatic catch registration technologies and emphasised the importance of creating a system where fishers feel confident in sharing their data, ensuring that no one can “freeload” by using others’ data without contributing their own. This aspect of secure data sharing was critical not only for the “Technology” but also for “Quality of life” and “Regulations”. Participants noted that without trust, adoption and effective use of these technologies would be challenging.
Addressing Climate Change: Key Positive Outcomes Identified
The group explored how climate change might influence fish migration patterns and stock distributions, potentially affecting where and how automatic catch registration might be most effectively implemented. Several positive outcomes of implementing automatic catch registration were identified. These benefits were mapped to relevant drivers as follows:
- Increased Knowledge and Understanding of Migrating Commercial Fish Species: This benefit was strongly connected to the “Research” driver and had implications for “Climate change” as it could help track shifting fish populations.
- Reduced Manual Registration and Input for Fishers: This factor linked directly to “Quality of life” for fishers and “Technology”, potentially making their work more efficient.
- Improved Law Enforcement at Sea: Participants noted that automatic catch registration could make it easier to identify and catch illegal actions while significantly reducing instances of wrongful accusations. This benefit is connected to “Regulations” and “Quality of Life”.
- The Opening of Closed and Restricted Areas for Fishing: This process today is seen as very lengthy. Automatic catch registration technologies can provide data in real time, allowing authorities to make more dynamic decisions regarding the opening and closing of fishing zones. This is linked to “Regulations” and “Access to areas”, as it could influence how fishing zones are monitored and managed.
Evolving Regulations for New Technologies
Discussions also focused on how existing regulations might need to evolve to accommodate new technologies and data-sharing practices. This created a network of connections between “Regulations”, “Technology”, and “Research” drivers. By visually mapping these relationships, the workshop participants were able to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complex ecosystem surrounding automatic catch registration implementation. This discussion highlighted the interconnected nature of the challenges and opportunities, emphasising the need for a holistic approach in future planning and implementation efforts. Participants pinpointed the need for reliable and user-friendly solutions that can accurately identify fish species, size, and weight in real-time. The potential of AI and computer vision technologies was discussed as a means to achieve these objectives. However, researchers noted that successfully implementing these technologies will require flexibility in regulations to accommodate the new technological advancements.
Exploring the Path Forward
This workshop marks an important step in our ongoing efforts to explore catch monitoring in European fisheries. By bringing together diverse perspectives from researchers, fishers, and policymakers, we are building a comprehensive understanding of the challenges and opportunities associated with implementing automatic catch registration technologies. As we move forward, we will continue to engage with all stakeholders to develop solutions that are technologically advanced and practical for the fishing industry. The insights gathered from this workshop will contribute to shaping future discussions on digital catch monitoring in European fisheries.
Text and photos by Hanne Hjelle Hatlebrekke, SINTEF Ocean.
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
