Developing Viable On-Demand Gear Systems
On-demand gear development continues to evolve with the help of industry.
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On-demand, also called “ropeless”, systems use far less rope in the water column than traditional gear designs. To locate and haul (retrieve) gear, traditional methods tether gear at the seafloor to a rope attached to a buoy at the water’s surface. The main characteristic of on-demand gear is that it does not need this gear-to-buoy tether, also known as a vertical buoy line.
Buoy and Line Alternatives
Pop-up Buoy
A line coiled in a cage on the seafloor that release a buoy and/or a buoyant lid that floats to the surface, allowing the stowed line to uncoil. Alternatively called a stowed rope device.
Inflatable Lift Bag/Buoy
A lift bag attached to a cage that contains a compressed air tank on the seafloor, that inflates, bringing the cage to the surface.
Buoyant Spool
A line coiled around a spool tethered to a weight on the seafloor that unwinds the line as it rises to the surface.
The Gear Lending Library
We are helping fishermen test alternatives to the traditional buoy and line, including pop-up buoys, inflatable lift bags/buoys, and buoyant spools. To increase systems testing, we have assisted in creating the gear lending library. Through contracts with the federal government and donations from environmental organizations, we house hundreds of on-demand systems from several manufacturers.
Permitted fishermen can borrow from the library to test gear in real fishing situations. In return, the borrowers provide us with insights into how the gear operates on their vessel, any problems encountered, and suggestions for improving the technologies.
Finding and Retrieving On-Demand Gear
If on-demand gear is to be widely available as a tool for fishermen to use in areas seasonally closed to fishing with persistent buoy lines, then we need an effective and affordable system for locating the gear. Currently, others in the area can see the surface buoys that are attached to a vertical line connected to the gear on the ocean floor. With on-demand gear, there will need to be another way.
Underwater view of gear deployment.
We’re working with our partners to develop a system that will allow all fishermen operating around fishing gear attached to on-demand devices—which will not have surface buoys—to know it is there and avoid it. One of many efforts to address this is a recently conducted global technology search with NASA’s Center of Excellence for Collaborative Innovation and Yet2. They are working to identify technologies that may be able to solve these challenges. The Yet2 report on their search concluded that:
- Acoustic technology remains the most viable solution for underwater gear marking
- There are a wide range of global manufacturers with the expertise to meet this demand
- There is reason to believe that the cost of this technology can come down as it finds wider use, such as in on-demand gear marking
Learn more about our field work to test ways of locating on-demand gear
Learn more about the EarthRanger project
On-Demand Research in Fixed-Gear Fisheries
We are collaborating with fishermen to test on-demand gear systems in experimental fisheries that occur in seasonally closed areas, and throughout the year elsewhere. These vessels are deploying on-demand systems during regular fishing trips, and also testing ways to “see” and recover it from the ocean floor. Vessels collect data and provide feedback on gear performance essential to manufacturers who are further developing on-demand systems. Reach out to our Gear Research Team for more information.
Closed Area Experimental Fisheries
Our exempted fishing permit (EFP) authorizes up to 200 fishermen to test on-demand gear. In 2025, we worked with approximately 74 fishermen across five states and three fixed and two mobile gear fisheries. A subset of these fishermen-collaborators test fully on-demand fishing gear in federal waters that are otherwise seasonally closed to fishing with static vertical lines. These areas, also referred to as vertical line restricted areas, allow for permitted vessels to test fully on-demand systems because they use no vertical line.
Under our EFP, participating vessels can test alternatives to static vertical lines in three of the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Restricted Areas (see chart):
- Massachusetts Restricted Area (MRA)
- South Island Restricted Area (SIRA)
- Great South Channel (GSC)
Learn more about the 2026 experimental on-demand experimental fishery
Learn more about the 2025 experimental on-demand experimental fishery
Learn more about the 2024 experimental on-demand experimental fishery
Learn more about the 2023 experimental on-demand experimental fishery
Open Area Experimental On-Demand Fishing
Outside of the closed-area experimental fishing, fishermen-collaborators are testing on-demand systems throughout the year. They use a hybrid trawl setup. This means using a traditional buoy/highflyer on one end of a trawl, with a vertical buoy line, and an on-demand unit on the other. The purpose of testing gear in open areas is to collect more data on each system, and to improve them using feedback from the collaborating fishermen. Our goal is to provide fishermen facing vertical line closures with a tool to continue their fishing operations while reducing the risk of entanglement of protected species.
Guide to Wider Use of On-Demand Gear
Reducing persistent buoy lines from the water is the most effective tool NOAA has used to reduce entanglement risk. Seasonally restricting persistent buoy lines is a solution for whales and likely benefits other protected species. On-demand fishing provides an option for continued fishing during restriction periods, however we recognize that challenges remain to wider use of on-demand gear. Our guide to bringing about wider use of on-demand systems provides a “roadmap” toward this goal.