Novel underwater camera system for commercial fishing

Blue skies, pure sunshine and clear water in Northern Denmark provided the perfect backdrop for an experimental fishing trial of #DTUAqua to promote the application of a novel underwater camera system that gives a real-time underwater view of all species entering the last part of a trawl net. This camera has been purpose built to fit inside commercial fishing nets, with integrated lights, together with smart tarpaulin sheets to quarantee clear water and good contrasts, it works a treat. All species that flush into the codend can be easily recognized when zipping past the camera inside a funnel-shaped, narrow section of the net. Welcome to modern, technology-driven 21st century fishing. Fishing blind in not really knowing what enters the nets seems a thing of the past. There are plenty of applications that create a win-win for all involved in the big game of hunting fish: fishermen, scientists and managers. For example, as soon as unwanted bycatches (such as undersized cod) enter a net designed to capture Norway lobster, a fisher could decide to haul in the net already, that way avoiding the capture of a less-valuable species or for which less quota is available. There are also trials ongoing as I write with an acoustic mechanism to close the codend remotely underwater only when the target catch starts to enter. This gives the fisher the power to actively manipulate catch composition and eventually catch less but keep more.