During the Fall of 2018, Coldwater Lobster Association (CLA) conducted two pilot studies on the effectiveness and practicality of ‘rope-less’ fishing gear technology for the commercial lobster industry within LFA 34.
CLA partnered with Desert Star Systems LLC, a US-based oceans technology company, and Ashored Innovations, a Canadian-based ocean technology company, to test and evaluate their rope-less fishing gear innovations, acoustic receivers, and Rope-Less Fisher™ app.
Despite industry’s resistance to the concept of acoustic release fishing gear, also known as ‘ropeless’ fishing, CLA recognized that it was imperative that applied research testing be conducted by fishermen themselves to determine the feasibility of such innovations but to also uphold our commitment to a sustainable fishery. We recognized that:
- Industry needs to develop measures to coexist with whales and other marine mammals or we could see even more restrictions placed upon harvesters or additional area closures implemented;
- Canada’s efforts to protect marine mammals within our commercial fisheries was going unnoticed by some within the international community; and
- Just saying “no” wasn’t going to cut it anymore with the US Marine Mammal Protection Act exemption period looming.
Rope-less fishing holds the promise that the permanent vertical buoy lines associated with pot and trap fisheries could be substantially removed from the water column, making these waters safer to marine mammals and navigation in general. Rope-less fishing gear technology had yet to be tested within a trawl fishery, such as lobster, and therefore, the objective of the pilot was to identify the advantages of the technology, the limitations, and document any compulsory modifications needed in order for rope-less gear to be successful in the commercial lobster fishery off Southwestern, Nova Scotia. Lastly, CLA felt that it was imperative to evaluate how much training, and what methods of training and development would be required for fishermen to comfortably implement this technology into their industry if it were to be implemented into a commercial fishery here in Atlantic Canada. The final assessment report on Desert Star’s technology was written by a independent third-party, presented to DFO national headquarters and is provided at the bottom of this page.
