Defra seeks views on expanding use of monitoring technology on fishing boats
Government to examine roll out of Remote Electronic Monitoring on fishing vessels.
Today (Monday 19 October) the Government has opened a call for evidence to examine whether monitoring technology could be used more widely on fishing boats operating in English waters to help support the sector by preventing overfishing.
Now that the UK has left the EU, the Government is seeking to utilise the latest technology to better support the industry. These systems could help improve the management of our fisheries, prevent overfishing and ensure the UK has a thriving and environmentally sustainable fishing sector by improving the data that is available to the industry on fish stocks.
Remote Electronic Monitoring systems can consist of automatic cameras, GPS, sensors or other monitoring measures. Its uses can include gathering data on the amount of fish, their sizes and all the different species present and can help fishermen show they are fishing in line with their catch allowances, supporting the sector to become more sustainable. Exploring this technology and its benefits for the fishing sector and our marine environment is one of many ways the Government is making use of new powers as an independent coastal state.