Video monitoring of a trawl catcher processor in the North Pacific: A pilot study to identify requirements for catch monitoring

No abstracts are to be cited without prior reference to the author.

A video monitoring system was successfully used to monitor fish handling and discard operations on a chartered 70 m trawl catcher processor operating in the North Pacific. Cameras on deck and in the processing factory monitored catch during all phases of handling, sorting and discard. Pacific halibut (Hippoglossus stenolepis), a regulatory discard, were visually marked to track their movement through the processing system when the vessel was targeting yellowfin sole (Limanda aspera) and arrowtooth flounder (Atheresthes stomias). Nine cameras provided necessary coverage of the deck, fish hold, and processing area. In addition, a large monitor was mounted on a factory bulkhead within view of the processing crew and fishery observers. The video monitoring proved to be beneficial by providing visual information on several operational aspects, including gear retrieval, status of catch being emptied from the trawl net, and fish flow through the processing system. Fishery observers also benefited from the video display by gaining knowledge of the flow of fish through the factory, improving efficiency in sampling. The video system successfully tracked individually marked Pacific halibut (40-85 cm TL) through the processing system to discard.