The Quinault Indian Nation’s Dungeness Crab Fleet in Westport, Washington State
Fish harvesters in The Quinault Indian Nation’s Dungeness crab fleet are embracing the use of electronic monitoring systems to address the need to track fishing activity, including the location of traps to both retrieve derelict ‘ghost’ gear and attempt to decrease the occurrence of gear tampering.
The Quinault Indian Nation’s Dungeness crab fleet deploys
approximately 10,000 crab trap per season from 25 vessels.
Data collection through electronic monitoring not only helps them manage these challenges but is also a response to the industry-wide recognition that environmental and enforcement issues are making fishing more difficult.