On July 17, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a proposed rule for expanding electronic reporting in the Greater Atlantic Region. This rule mandates 100% electronic reporting for commercial fishermen in the Mid-Atlantic and New England Council fishery management regions as well as federally-permitted for-hire party/charter operators in the New England management region…

Meet Lange Solberg, Business Development Manager for Real Time Data’s North America operations. For two years, Lange has expanded RTD’s Australia origins into commercial fishing markets in the US and Canada. With offices based on Bellingham, Washington’s working waterfront, Lange continues to work hard at making RTD’s flagship product, the Deckhand electronic logbook, a tool…

Which would you rather attend: The NOAA Electronic Monitoring West Coast Workshop or the latest blockbuster movie? If you said the movie, you may need to think twice.
An unexpectedly broad spectrum of information, cooperation and an incredible industry dynamic marked the most recent electronic monitoring (EM) workshop in Washington State last week. Similar to…

Three federal fishery management councils on both US coasts have recently been discussing and acting on electronic logbook-related policies.
Since 2018, the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils have been deliberating on whether or not all commercial fishermen harvesting species managed by the councils should switch to mandatory electronic vessel trip reports (eVTRs). Charter…

The evolution of technology in commercial fisheries is as constant as the industry itself. Traps, nets, engines, electronics, and materials have always been changing at varying paces through time. It is worth remembering that adopting new technologies, even if in some cases it’s mandator, can empower fishermen and make one’s operation more efficient. Key among…

Seattle, Washington: December 3, 2019 — Over 500 exhibitors and thousands of attendees descended on the annual Pacific Marine Expo, held November 21-23 at the CenturyLink Field Event Center in Seattle, Washington. PME is an annual trade show targeting the commercial marine industry, with many who attend representing the commercial fishing sector.
Under the booth name…