Preliminary Study About the Suitability of an Electronic Monitoring System to Record Scientific and Other Information From the Tropical Tuna Purse Seine Fishery

Electronic monitoring systems (EMS) are used in some fisheries to collect the same types of scientific information that human observers can collect, and in some cases for compliance with existing regulations. An EMS system was tested previously onboard a tropical tuna purse seiner in the Atlantic Ocean and it showed that the system could perform very well in many tasks. Since then, 17 purse seine vessels operating in the 4 RFMO’s, have been equipped with a different EMS that has been developed recently by SATLINK (SeaTube). In this paper, we present preliminary analyses comparing information collected by human observers from the IEO and recordings of the SeaTube system reviewed by DOS (Digital Observer Services) of 103 sets made along 4 trips in 2 different vessels in the Atlantic Ocean. We compare in particular estimates of catch per set (for target and non-target species), amounts of discards, fishing effort type and set location. We also comment on other potential uses of the electronic system including for compliance purposes.