![\"p18-SNE-bycatch-map\"](\"https:\/\/fish-news.com\/cfn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/p18-SNE-bycatch-map.gif\")
<\/a>The information is aggregated daily by a second software program and is automatically transmitted back to participating boats in the form of color-coded maps that help captains make judgment calls about where to fish to avoid unwanted bycatch.<\/p>\n\u201cIt\u2019s very easy to use,\u201d said Ed Lee, who captains two scallop vessels, the Regulus and the Furious.\u00a0 \u201cIf computers don\u2019t bother you, it\u2019s just \u2018click, click, click,\u2019 and that\u2019s it.\u00a0 Very simple.\u201d<\/p>\n
The program currently is configured to be as minimally intrusive to fishing operations as possible, asking scallopers to plug in only two pieces of information \u2013 the number of bushels of scallops harvested per tow and the number of individual yellowtail flounder encountered.<\/p>\n
But it has enormous potential.\u00a0 The software was designed so that captains, researchers, and program administrators can easily turn \u201con\u201d a myriad of other \u201cfields\u201d to collect a wealth of data about everything from scallop shell heights to water temperature to fish fork lengths if they\u2019re interested in doing so.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomeday we may want to collect information about scallop meat weights so that fishermen can avoid areas with low meat yields,\u201d said Dan Ward of Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF), which is overseeing the project.\u00a0 \u201cThe program is flexible enough to accommodate that.\u00a0 It\u2019s really a comprehensive data collection program that\u2019s designed to benefit the industry in a number of ways.\u201d \u00a0…<\/p>\n
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Read the rest and much, much more in the October issue of<\/strong>\u00a0Commercial Fisheries News.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Read online\u00a0immediately and download for future reference.<\/p>\n [add_to_cart=5173]<\/p>\n EAST FALMOUTH, MA \u2013 Fifteen scallop vessels are now using a simple computer software program to collect and transmit \u201creal-time\u201d scallop catch and yellowtail flounder bycatch information back to shore. The information is aggregated daily by a second software program and is automatically transmitted back to participating boats in the form of color-coded maps that … <\/p>\n