Electronic Monitoring Programs Can Improve Fisheries Oversight

Emerging technology would help managers improve data accuracy and compliance

Video Read time:
Projects: Improving Management of International Fisheries
English
English español français
Electronic Monitoring Can Improve Oversight

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

This video is hosted by YouTube. In order to view it, you must consent to the use of “Marketing Cookies” by updating your preferences in the Cookie Settings link below. View on YouTube

To ensure that fisheries are sustainable, managers need accurate data on catch and vessel activity. But with thousands of vessels operating on the high seas, beyond the reach and view of authorities, gathering and reviewing data can be difficult. Electronic monitoring (EM) programs offer regional fisheries management organizations—the multinational groups responsible for overseeing commercial fishing in 95% of the world’s ocean—an efficient, cost-effective way to increase oversight. Well-designed EM programs lead to better data and stronger fisheries governance, improving outcomes for both fish and fishers.

High Seas
High Seas
Issue Brief September 20, 2019

A Key Tool for Global Fisheries

Quick View
High Seas
Issue Brief September 20, 2019

A Key Tool for Global Fisheries

Each year, thousands of commercial fishing vessels ply the world’s high seas, hauling in catch ranging from sardines to giant tunas. In 2014, the most recent year for which data are available, vessels operating in these areas beyond national jurisdiction caught 4.4 million metric tons of fish, valued at $7.6 billion.

Surveillance cameras
Surveillance cameras
Article May 1, 2020

International Fisheries Managers' Pandemic Response Highlights Need to Expand Electronic Monitoring

Quick View
Surveillance cameras
Article May 1, 2020

International Fisheries Managers' Pandemic Response Highlights Need to Expand Electronic Monitoring

In response to the global spread of COVID-19, several regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) have suspended the requirement that vessels fishing in their waters have independent observers onboard. RFMOs—multinational bodies that oversee many of the fisheries on the high seas—took the step to limit the potential exposure of fishers, observers, and inspectors to the virus.

Related Experts
Jamie Gibbon
Jamie Gibbon Manager
International Fisheries
America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Media Contact
Leah Weiser Manager, Communications 202.540.6304
RELATED
Topics
Ocean Conservation
Tags
Fisheries management Overfishing Illegal fishing
Projects
Improving Management of International Fisheries
Experts
Jamie Gibbon

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

About a dozen people stand examining large blue bins full of whole fish in a warehouse. Some people are in green clothes, others in blue, and all wear ballcaps. A few hold clipboards.

Article

April 23, 2024 Reducing Risk Strengthens the Seafood Supply Chain
A worker in a seafood market dumps bright orange shrimp from a blue bin onto a bed of ice between a lot of other seafood laid out for sale. Other workers are visible in the background, as are the arms of shoppers placing orders from the other side of the ice bed.

Article

April 22, 2024 Seafood Industry Benefits From Greater Vessel Transparency
An aerial view of a vast wetland, with scattered vegetation visible on sandy islands.

Article

April 19, 2024 In Western Australia, a Conservation Model for the World

MORE FROM PEW

A presentation being given by a businesswoman to a group of participants at a business conference. Four Plan Features Can Boost 'Retirement Readiness'
An illustration of a couple holding hands walking away from an outline of houses behind them Pathways to Homeownership: Housing in America
A photograph of City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia to Address Pressing Policy Challenges
A bright blue T-cell infected by HIV is engulfed by hundreds of yellow virions. Pew Researcher Seeks to Crack Code on HIV Cure
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.