Underwater Camera Tested with Assistance from the Provincial Government

The Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) will receive support from the Provincial Government to test an underwater camera system that records data about fish behavior in and around fishing gear. The Honourable Keith Hutchings, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, today announced $19,208 through the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program to assess the usefulness of the camera in evaluating the design and performance of fishing gear used to catch white hake and northern crab.

“The Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program supports research and development activity that leads to the development of improved technology for the industry,” said Minister Hutchings. “With this project, the Provincial Government is investing more than $19,000 to pursue invaluable undersea camera research that could ultimately help researchers determine the best designs for potting technology for various species.”

This project will involve collecting videos and stills of white hake and northern stone crab interacting with baited groundfish pots. Underwater cameras are a commonly used tool to explore and research fish behavior and the reaction to specific trawls during capture. This provides data that are essential for making changes to the gear and to assist with reducing environmental impacts.

“The centre is happy to lead this project, which will assist in the development of a new sustainable and environmentally friendly fishery,” said Bob Verge, Managing Director of CCFI. “It is particularly exciting because we will be using a new research methodology for developing static deep-water fishing gear. The use of this technology could considerably speed up the pace of the optimization of the potting gear by reducing trial and error in the usual field testing process.”

Budget 2013: A Sound Plan, A Secure Future included a $2.2 million investment in the Fisheries Technology and New Opportunities Program, which has promoted innovation in the province’s billion dollar fishing and aquaculture industry by assisting more than 200 research and development projects since 2008.

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2013 11 01             11:10 a.m.