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One free scan finds every outdated or missing driver and matches the right update for your exact hardware.Free scan · exact hardware matchCommercial fishing has advanced through more electronic navigation and communications, digital catch reporting, vessel-monitoring systems, and new tools for studying fish populations and marine ecosystems. These technologies serve different purposes: some help crews operate safely, others document fishing for management, and still others are used by scientists conducting surveys. Their use and requirements vary by fishery, vessel and jurisdiction, and technology alone does not ensure sustainable fishing.
How has commercial fishing technology changed?
There is no single technology package used by every commercial fishing vessel. A small boat working near shore has different navigation, communications and reporting needs from a large vessel operating offshore. Regulations also differ by country and fishery.
Today’s advances are best understood in three groups: equipment that helps crews navigate and communicate, systems that record fishing activity for management, and research tools that help scientists assess fisheries and ecosystems. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) describes navigation and communications equipment as increasingly cheaper, smaller and easier to use in recent decades. It says, “Communication and navigation technologies are essential components of safety in fishing operations.”
How do modern fishing vessels navigate and communicate?
Electronic navigation and communications can help crews establish their position, understand nearby hazards, contact other vessels or shore, and call for help. The equipment carried depends on the vessel and local rules; the following is a general pattern, not a universal legal checklist.
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- Position and charts: A vessel may use a compass or satellite navigation such as GPS. Larger vessels may be required to carry radar and electronic chart systems or plotters.
- Communications: VHF radio is generally the primary means of two-way communication. Large industrial vessels commonly also carry satellite telephones for longer-distance communication.
- Identification and emergency equipment: Depending on national requirements, vessels may carry AIS transponders, digital selective calling VHF radios, emergency position-indicating radio beacons, radar search-and-rescue transponders, or vessel monitoring systems.
Navigation equipment also depends on practical constraints: where a vessel operates, how far it travels, which communications networks are available, what equipment regulations require, and whether power remains available when the engine is off. FAO’s fishing safety guidance discusses these technologies and the importance of maintaining power for navigation and communication devices.
How do cameras and sensors monitor commercial fishing?
Electronic monitoring (EM) collects information about fishing activity using equipment that can include cameras, GPS receivers and transmitters, and sensors on fishing gear. Depending on the system, it may record where and when a vessel fishes, time spent fishing, catch, discards, or interactions with protected species. These records can complement other data used for stock assessments and catch-limit management.
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Electronic reporting is related but distinct: it digitizes information such as trip, landing, purchase, processing or observer records. Fishermen, dealers, processors and observers may enter or transmit reports using smartphones, tablets or computers. NOAA describes both approaches as ways to collect information for fisheries management, but the data captured and the equipment used depend on the program.
What a monitoring setup can look like
In NOAA’s Northeast groundfish example, a control box stores sensor and video data; cameras cover areas where catch is hauled, sorted or discarded; and GPS receivers and sensors track vessel location and activity. Participating vessels in that program require full camera coverage from dock to dock. Review rates are set by program requirements, and third-party summaries are sent to NOAA for quality checks and verification. These are details of that regional program, not a universal standard for EM systems.
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- Dual Spectrum CHIRP Sonar: Delivers views of fish arches and fish-holding structure with two ways to search — Wide Mode for maximum coverage and Narrow Mode for detailed scanning; Precise 2D target separation powered by Low-Q transducer
- Enhanced GPS Navigation: Equipped with Humminbird Basemap, this chartplotter includes coverage of 10,000+ lakes and continental U.S. coastlines; Compatible with premium LakeMaster, CoastMaster, and Navionics charts
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- Reliable Keypad Control: User-friendly menu system operated by softkey controls allows reliable operation in any weather conditions; Access pre-loaded views and settings through intuitive button interface
What monitoring can and cannot establish
Video and sensor records can make fishing activity more visible, but collection does not automatically mean every minute of footage is reviewed. Program rules determine camera coverage, review rates, data handling and whether EM supplements or substitutes for human observers. NOAA identifies manual video review, data transmission and storage as major costs. Computer vision and machine learning are being developed to help identify species, estimate size or weight, count gear and classify vessel activity; these are developing applications, not capabilities that are fully automated or universally deployed.
NOAA’s U.S. electronic-monitoring overview reported 14 implemented programs on a page last updated April 10, 2025. That is a dated U.S.-specific snapshot, not a global total. See NOAA’s electronic monitoring and reporting overview and its Northeast groundfish program description for program details.
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How do AIS and VMS track fishing vessels?
AIS, or the Automatic Identification System, was designed for maritime navigation safety. It transmits a vessel’s location, identity, course and speed. Analysts can use AIS signals and machine-learning methods to estimate apparent fishing activity, but an AIS-based estimate is not a complete count of fishing.
VMS, or a vessel monitoring system, was designed for fisheries control and enforcement. The two systems therefore have different original purposes, and fisheries managers may use different sources of information depending on the rules and monitoring needs of a particular fishery.
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| System | Original purpose | What its data can show | Important limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| AIS | Maritime navigation safety | Transmitted vessel location, identity, course and speed; analysis can estimate apparent fishing activity. | Only part of the global fishing fleet carries AIS, with coverage varying by region and vessel size. Signals can be switched off or carry incorrect identity information, and often lack detail about gear or species. |
| VMS | Fisheries control and enforcement | Vessel-monitoring data used in fisheries oversight. | FAO distinguishes VMS from AIS by purpose; the cited overview does not provide a single global comparison of VMS coverage or data detail. |
FAO’s 2019 account of an AIS atlas release said the number of fishing vessels with AIS was increasing by 10 to 30 percent each year. That is the figure as stated in the 2019 release, not a verified current growth rate. The release also described a Global Fishing Watch dataset tracking activity for more than 60,000 fishing vessels in 2018; that figure applies to that dataset and year. FAO’s 2019 account of the AIS atlas explains why AIS signals are useful but incomplete.
What research tools help scientists assess fisheries?
Some newer tools are used primarily for surveys and ecosystem research, not as routine equipment on commercial fishing boats. NOAA describes several ways scientists can gather observations over large areas or underwater:
- Uncrewed surface vehicles can collect sonar data across survey areas.
- Underwater optics provide images and video that help researchers study biodiversity and species behavior.
- Active acoustics, such as echosounders, send sound and interpret returning echoes.
- Passive acoustics record sounds occurring naturally underwater.
These observations can help map species distributions, estimate abundance, and support stock and ecosystem assessments. They inform fisheries management; they should not be confused with equipment universally carried by commercial fleets. NOAA describes these approaches in its overview of advanced technologies for fisheries research.
Why technology does not guarantee sustainable fishing
Technology can make vessel operations safer, provide more records of fishing activity, or improve the evidence available to scientists and managers. It cannot, by itself, determine whether a fishery is sustainable. That depends on how reliable and complete the data are, which rules apply, how those rules are enforced, and how managers use the information to set and adjust limits.
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Coverage and data quality differ among regions, vessel sizes, gears and fisheries. AIS may miss vessels or activity; EM programs have different coverage and review rules; and research surveys observe selected areas and conditions rather than every fishing trip. These systems are most useful when their limits are understood and their information is interpreted in the context of the fishery being managed.
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