The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) invests in and promotes the research and development of cost-effective alternative fishing technology, including on-demand (commonly called “ropeless gear”) fishing systems, focused on reducing entanglement risk to protected species. DMF received funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to develop a framework for the implementation of on-demand fishing in New England.
Through assistance by a contractor, DMF initiated a scoping process with a variety of stakeholders to address the regulatory, logistical, technological, and financial challenges with this potential gear modification. Through interviews and an in-person workshop with a range of stakeholders, we identified key concepts and issues that need to be addressed and synthesized that information into a summary report with recommendations for addressing the challenges to implementing on-demand fishing. The project was recently extended to include model development and analysis of the economic impact of on-demand fishing. This work will examine the socioeconomic issues of on-demand fishing gear, producing a first of its kind model capable of providing economic welfare and cost impact estimates for lobster fisheries under various on-demand fishing gear management and implementation scenarios.
In addition, DMF provides Letters of Authorization (LOA) to individuals or groups to investigate modifications to trap fishing gear that may further reduce the risk of entanglement or the severity of entanglement. DMF has provided numerous LOAs to researchers seeking to test on-demand fishing systems in state waters. These in-situ investigations are an important step in the advancement of alternative gear technology.