A Marine Fisheries biologist weighs up a basket of dogfish on a gillnet trip.

The Fisheries Dependent Investigations Project monitors catch and by-catch composition of some of the state's fisheries. The Program is staffed by three full-time biologists and collects data at-sea and shore-side from commercial fisheries to document fishery performance and collect biological samples for stock assessment research. Fisheries covered include the pot fisheries for lobster, sea bass, and scup; trawl fisheries for squid, whiting and groundfish; hook-fisheries for cod, spiny dogfish and scup; and gillnet fisheries for groundfish, and spiny dogfish. Data collected strengthen MarineFisheries participation on - and contributions to - the fishery management councils and ASMFC.

The Program enjoys close ties to the federal sea-sampling program and by maintaining similar sampling protocols; the state data are incorporated into federal databases for analyses. Staff frequently work with the MarineFisheries Conservation Engineering Program to develop, test, and monitor fishing gear capable to reduce by-catch and in some cases create more fishing opportunities for fishermen. We also oversee our "experimental fisheries" where new gears are often put to the test in state and federal waters.