WWF’s Electronic Fish Monitoring Project

Recent studies have shown that accidental bycatch of endangered species is a problem that is now open and line fishing has received little attention and little has been done to obtain comprehensive information on bycatching this Fishery. The major priority for improving our understanding of bycatch in the artisanal pole and line fishery is to improve the coverage of independent observations to collect information. The best method is through the deployment of electronic monitoring, as these artisanal fleets often lack the space required to carry a human observer. The implementation of electronic monitoring would enable artisanal fisheries to obtain the data needed to develop management strategies to reduce the fishery’s impact on endangered species. This will ultimately enable the fishery to obtain third-party certifications, such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, which will improve their access to high value markets for their catch.

This project will plug the information gaps on the bycatch of endangered species that are presently plaguing the artisanal pole and line fishing communities in South Africa and across the globe. A report by the international pole and line foundation estimates that worldwide artisanal pole and line fisheries catch an estimated 360,000 of tuna tonnes/year of which the South African pole and line fishery catch 3,400 tonnes/year. This sector is one of the most labour-intensive fishing sectors and employs around 2,500 fishers in South Africa, an important contribution of jobs and livelihoods when unemployment is over 32% in the country. The challenge with collecting independent fisheries data on these vessels is that the vessels are often small and cannot accommodate a human observer without taking off a crew member, which often means the vessel will catch less fish for that trip. The deployment of electronic monitoring systems will help capture the necessary bycatch information without having to lose revenue due having less fishers on the vessel. Electronic monitoring systems are also easily scalable across the fleet and will enable for a data sample that is representative of the fleet.

Electronic monitoring (EM) has emerged as a cost-efficient supplement to existing catch monitoring programmes in fisheries. EM systems generally consist of various activity sensors, GPS, computer hardware and cameras which allow for video monitoring and documentation of catches and detailed fishing effort estimation without requiring additional on-board personnel. The footage and data will be recorded on a cloud-based server to enable review by WWF, government scientists and fishers to obtain catch information,such as species composition, numbers, volume and lengths etc. This information will also be used to meet national government and intergovernmental requirements such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas reporting requirement. Recent advancements in the technology have incorporated artificial intelligence (AI) technology that can categorize fishing events which aids reviewers of the footage to look into specific events in the dataset thus greatly increasing the efficiency of the review process. The EM system can also provide an added layer of security for fishers as some of the AI systems have the ability to detect when someone goes overboard and can alert other crew members to the event.

This solution is currently targeted at the approximately 2,500 artisanal tuna pole and line fishermen in the small town of Hout Bay, south west of Cape Town in South Africa. Traditionally, human observers have provided the majority of fisheries monitoring services. While monitoring using human observers can work well in some cases, challenges such as observer safety, space constraints on smaller vessels, representativeness of data collected, and cost, have catalysed the exploration of other methods. Comprehensive EM programs that include clear objectives and standards for data collection and review can enable government, fishers, and NGOs to build upon existing observer programs, expand monitoring coverage, and support sustainable management solutions. Sustainably managing the fishery will enable the fishers to have a resource they rely on for their livelihood which they can harvest for generations to come.

The  artisanal tuna pole and line fishery has not had independent observer monitoring for many years since the government observer programme was halted. Assessment of the fishery highlighted the lack of critical baseline data on the impacts it has on the environment, especially on endangered species.  Ongoing monitoring of these impacts will be necessary to sustain the fishery’s access to MSC certification, which enables continuous access to high-value markets. Currently we are running a human based Observer monitoring program  with the artisanal pole and line fleet that has proven difficult to implement during Covid-19. WWF South Africa has been working with this community for 4 years, and has established a working relationship, through which WWF has gained understanding of their needs. In addition, a National Steering committee, which includes representatives of the fishery association, government fisheries managers and other stakeholders, provides a platform for  the fishers to engage and give input into the challenges and possible solutions to meeting the data requirement needed for this fishery.

Electronic monitoring can provide scalable and verifiable monitoring and data collection to track essential information on fisheries bycatch, which will enable effective fisheries management and the sustainability of the fishery. The ability to collect and review bycatch and catch information for the artisanal pole and line fishery will increase their credibility in the marketplace and at the same time contribute to sustainability, and enable the fishery to improve the robustness and flexibility of its supply chains to withstand shocks like COVID-19 pandemic. The EMS will therefore contribute to creating scalable economic opportunities for these community fishers.

The pilot of the EM technology will be in the Hout bay fishing community in Cape town, South Africa as it is the epicenter of artisanal tuna pole and line fishing in South Africa. This pilot will directly impact the nearly 2500 artisanal tuna pole and line fishers utilizing over 150 boats. The technology has been proven in other global north fisheries around the world to lower observations cost while providing good data. The pilot will  identify the advantages and disadvantages of the system in relation to the local South African context and inform how the fleet-wide rollout of the EM system should be managed. The pilot will also look into how the EM system can be modified to better align with the operational aspects in the South African artisanal pole and line fleet as this differs from other pole and line fleets globally.

Artisanal tuna pole and line fishery hasn't had independent observer monitoring recently since the government observer programme was halted. Human observers have recently started to provided fisheries monitoring services. While monitoring using human observers can work well in some cases, challenges such as observer safety, space constraints on smaller vessels, representativeness of data collected, and cost, have catalyzed the exploration of other methods. In order to successfully manage the fishery sustainably there is a need to continuously collect comprehensive data on fishing activities to meet the necessary reporting requirements as recent assessments of this fishery highlighted that fishery lacks critical baseline data on its environmental impacts. EM technology bridges the gap where human observers face challenges such as space in the vessels. EM technology can also improve the quality of data collected and increase coverage in vessels that traditionally would have not been able to carry a human observer. We are also looking to help train the AI algorithms to improve their ability to identify bycatch events and endangered species.

In their publication,van Helmond and Mortensen discuss the lessons learned from the use of EM. They mentioned that "Findings show [...]: (a) cost-efficiency, (b) the potential to provide more representative coverage of the fleet than any observer programme and (c) the enhanced registration of fishing activity and location. Electronic monitoring can incentivize better compliance and discard reduction."

Successful fisheries management dependents on the collection of data from fishing activities, and bringing this solution to artisanal tuna fisheries is key.

Currently we are looking to pilot the EM system on 2 to 3 vessels which will serve around 30 – 40 fishermen. Once the pilot is concluded we are aiming true roll out the technology throughout the South African artisanal Pole and line fleet which will be around 2500 fishers.

We will be using the MSC standard framework to measure the progress of this solution and to see if this solution is able to meet our goals and objectives as stated above.

MSC standard framework can be provided upon request.

• 3 Full time staff
• 2 Contractors
• 9 Project steering committee members
• Over 100 people work for WWF-South Africa altogether. 

The WWF South Africa marine team has been engaged in working with fisheries for over a decade. We have engaged successfully with various fisheries in South Africa to enable the sustainable management of these fisheries. The team has also has ongoing EM trials in the South African inshore hake trawl fishery to inform our understanding of the level of bycatch in that fishery. The also has extensive experience in the development endangered bycatch species mitigation strategies. The artisanal pole and line fishers are represented through the fisheries improvement project steering committee where they are able to give their input insights into every solution that WWF is providing. It is just not possible to have a successful solution without fishes being involved as they are the people who are involved on the ground daily and provide invaluable insights into how this technology can be used to collect better and more robust data. 

We believe that a diversity of ideas who will help with the proper implementation of EM technology and artisanal pole and line. We have put together a fisheries improvement project steering committee that comprises of fishers, government scientists, fisheries managers and environmental NGO's. we also occasionally bring in experts and consultants that are more intimately involved in the subject matter to offer their advice and insights on how we can tackle challenges in the project which includes the implementation of EM technology. The implementation of EM technology will have a material impact on all stakeholders and that is why there is a critical need to have all of the stakeholders give their input throughout the process.

Oceans cover 70% of our planet. There are so many reasons why we need to keep our oceans healthy. As well as being home to amazing wildlife, our oceans provide food for billions of people and income for millions. The sea also produces around half of all the oxygen we breathe (thanks to phytoplankton, tiny single-celled ocean plants). Not to mention absorbing half of all man-made climate-warming carbon dioxide. But things are not going swimmingly at sea. Latest figures show a dramatic decline in ocean health. The total amount of vertebrate sea life (including fish) has reduced by more than a third since 1970!

We already know the causes – our seas are overused and under-protected. This innovation is a solution to the problem!

Our solution needs funding in order to be piloted.

We are looking at Solve to suggest suitable people. For us, it is important that not only do our partner(s) have a value-added but that they are as passionate as we are about conservation.