On-Demand Gear Guide

Entanglement is a key risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales, as well as fin whales and humpback whales. Removing persistent buoy lines from the water in U.S. fisheries is the most effective tool NOAA Fisheries has to reduce entanglements. Removing these lines would also reduce the incidental injuries and mortalities they cause.

Buoys connected by a line to the end of a gillnet or trap/pot are used to mark the location of gear. On-demand gear systems remove buoys and buoy lines from the water column. They also provide a new way to mark the location of gear fished on or near the ocean floor.

On-demand fishing can support healthy fisheries and fishing communities while providing needed protections for large whales. On-demand fishing gear will require both time and investment to fully develop. Once operational, it could provide many opportunities including:

• Allowing fishermen access to fishing grounds where persistent buoy lines are prohibited to protect species at risk of entanglement
• Allowing gear to be visualized in all conditions (including, for example, darkness and fog)
• Allowing for fishing with gear less vulnerable to current and storm drag
• Reducing the potential for lost gear, as displaced on-demand gear can be located using acoustics
• Providing a spatially resilient management solution as both protected species and fisheries shift movement patterns in response to climate change

For on-demand fishing to become a reality, fishermen, managers, policy makers, technology experts, researchers, and law enforcement must work collaboratively toward this goal. We will continue to work with all interested partners to:

• Test new and existing brands and models of on-demand gear and other equipment
• Develop strategies around governance, data sharing, and privacy necessary to make on-demand gear operable in the real world
• Identify new areas of investigation and funding opportunities
• Develop clear and understandable regulations that will lead to a future where both large whales and fishermen not only survive, but thrive

Progress Toward Wider Use of On-Demand Gear

We have published a guide that outlines next steps toward bringing about wider use of on-demand gear systems as an alternative to surface marking systems. The guide acknowledges that on-demand gear is not a solution for all fishing operations. However, operations that choose to use an on-demand system could access areas otherwise closed to fishing with buoy lines.

We will track progress in each of the six task areas we’ve developed to make on-demand gear an option by 2028.

Refer to the full guide (PDF, 42 pages) to learn more about:

• The case for on-demand gear
• The authority for, and history of, take reduction planning in the Northeast
• Other take reduction tools
• Regional on-demand gear research
• Steps toward standardizing digital gear marking for detection and retrieval

We are working concurrently in six task areas to bring on-demand gear into operation. Details on each task are in the guide. Follow our progress toward achieving each step in the six tasks areas in each section below.

Task Area 1: Expand Gear Research

Given increased interest in on-demand gear technology, we are accelerating research to make it a widely available option. Others are also expanding research, many in collaboration with fishing communities. For example, organizations funded through the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s New England Gear Innovation Fund are working to:

• Improve and expand access to on-demand retrieval devices
• Further develop gear marking and gear detection technologies
• Build solutions to support gear conflict avoidance, enforceability, and safety

Our science center will continue to collaborate with organizations to facilitate efficient, non-duplicative, research. The Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office will continue to support research through reviewing and issuing exempted fishing permits.

We have focused on increasing the number of fishermen collaborators and the amount and diversity of on-demand devices available for testing. Getting more fixed and mobile gear fishermen involved allows us to test on-demand fishing technologies at larger scales, with increased complexity and refined research goals.

Updated January 2025

NEFSC: Northeast Fisheries Science Center
GARFO: Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office

Task Area 2: Modify Regulations

Multiple laws govern commercial fishing in federal waters and each has specific regulations that may apply to on-demand fishing. This guide focuses on the regulations NOAA Fisheries has the authority to modify to allow on-demand fishing.

The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team discussed and recommended additional restricted areas during its 2022 meetings (PDF, 68 pages) as measures to reduce entanglement risk. This task includes steps to implement these areas or other areas to be discussed at future Team meetings. It also includes offering the option for using on-demand gear in areas closed to gear that uses persistent vertical line. This requires further economic analyses, methods for reducing gear conflict, and amendments to fishery management plans.

Updated January 2025

GARFO: Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office
MAFMC: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
NEFMC: New England Fishery Management Council
ASMFC: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

Updated January 2025

Task Area 3: On-Demand Gear Performance Standards

On-demand systems are still in the research and development phase. There are multiple designs, tailored for specific fishing conditions and operations. To achieve more widespread use, we are working with manufacturers and suppliers to develop minimum safety, reliability, and durability standards. Suppliers may also need minimum standards for gear maintenance, training, and customer support. Further, law enforcement will need methods for assessing, hauling, and resetting on-demand technology.

This task area addresses a number of factors to consider in developing performance standards and an approval process:

• What success rate would be required to demonstrate device reliability and how would this be demonstrated?
• How would safety and durability be demonstrated?
• How will law enforcement needs be supported through the standards and approval process?
• Will there be minimum performance standards for gear suppliers or will this be left to market forces?
• Will there be a mandatory training component before fishermen deploy gear?

Updated January 2025

NEFSC: Northeast Fisheries Science Center
GARFO: Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office
OST: NOAA Fisheries Office and Science and Technology

Updated January 2025

Task 4: Develop Data Specifications

Depending on the methods that eventually support on-demand fishing gear on a commercial scale, best practices around data governance, privacy, cybersecurity, and other elements will need to be resolved. NOAA Fisheries’ role must also be defined. As development continues, we will consider both recommendations from the community and lessons learned from the development of other fisheries electronic technologies.

Updated January 2025

GARFO: Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office
NEFSC: Northeast Fisheries Science Center
OST: NOAA Fisheries Office and Science and Technology

Updated January 2025

Task 5: Approval for New Systems

Before an on-demand system can be used in regular fishing operations, it must be approved by the Greater Atlantic regional administrator. Fishery regulations must be changed to allow it. We envision that regulations will be modified ahead of on-demand systems being approved.

Modifications to fishery management plans could also be revised. For example, restricting gear without surface marks to certain areas. Another example would be developing specific area-management protocols such as seasonal rotations or area-specific gear-setting conventions that further reduce the likelihood of gear conflict.

Performance standards could be adopted by regulation to ensure that on-demand systems replicate the functions of surface markings. This is a preliminary checklist of items, developed in consultation with multiple partners, that may be required for an on-demand system:

• Achieves consistent deployment and recovery by fixed gear fishermen
• Allows operations in the vicinity of the gear to detect and visualize it on the ocean bottom within a specified radius using a device universally available at a reasonable cost
• Provides information regarding the gear, vessel, and/or permit as required by relevant regulations
• Provides an effective means for enforcement to haul and reset gear as part of normal enforcement operations
• Meets acoustic communication and interoperability standards, if applicable

Updated January 2025

GARFO: Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office

Updated January 2025

Task Area 6: Enforcement Practices

Inspecting fixed gear is an important part of the mission of NOAA’s Northeast Division Office of Law Enforcement. These inspections help verify compliance with regulations and configuration requirements designed to protect marine mammals.

Fixed gear inspections are among the more challenging and resource-intensive aspects of fisheries law enforcement. Challenges include:

• Locating gear
• Limited availability of enforcement platforms outfitted with gear hauling capabilities
• Specialized skills and training needed to handle fixed gear
• Unique gear configurations among fishermen and regions
• Inherent dangers involved in gear hauling and redeployment

To conduct enforcement in an on-demand fishery, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement and their joint enforcement partners will need new practices, particularly regarding gear hauling, inspection, and redeployment methods. As we identify system performance standards, we will ensure that there are efficient tools and training plans in place for effective enforcement.

Updated January 2025

Greater Atlantic Fisheries Office
NEFSC: Northeast Fisheries Science Center
OLE: NOAA Office of Law Enforcement

Updated January 2025