Project WinchWatch: How Mass Deployment of Gear Sensors Enables Precise Spatial Planning in Fisheries, Provides Ground Truth to AI, and Facilitates "In-Depth" Analysis of Fishing Operations—Literally and Figuratively

When studying fishing operations and their impact on oceans, scientists require relevant data at the largest possible scale. For decades, available data on fishing activities have primarily come from vessel tracking systems, such as the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) and the Automatic Identification System (AIS). While these systems are useful to some extent, they provide only indirect conclusions based on vessel movement patterns, rather than precise information about the fishing operations themselves.

At the same time, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has advanced rapidly, offering new insights into many previously unknown areas of human activity, including fisheries. However, AI requires “ground truth” data to reach its full potential.

In the WinchWatch project, we have successfully deployed fishing gear sensors that are suitable for mass deployment, enabling the precise detection of the start, path, and end of fishing operations, both spatially and temporally. These sensors also provide detailed, real-time measurements of depth and temperature, allowing us to map the three-dimensional (3D) underwater trajectories of fishing nets. Each sensor is securely attached to the net and uniquely identifies it, allowing us to precisely determine which specific net was used in a given fishing haul. This identification enables us to verify whether the net type is allowed in the fishing area at that time, and, by knowing its physical characteristics—such as length, height, and mesh size—we can accurately quantify the fishing effort, as nets with larger areas and denser mesh sizes have a greater impact on the ocean.

When deployed across an entire fishing fleet, such systems collect valuable scientific data sets. These data can then be used by marine scientists to develop AI models and other analytical tools that inform future fisheries management policies.

The measurement of fishing effort reaches an entirely new level of precision and accuracy with this system, offering not only a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of fishing activities, but also a literal 'in-depth' analysis—both figuratively and literally—of fishing operations in the ocean.
Additionally, using data from the gear sensors, we have developed a planning and effort allocation system that enables custom design of fishing areas and the allocation of quantified fishing effort budgets and limits to each area. These limits can include rules related to gear type, fishing effort, allowed depths, and other variables. The analytical data generated by this system can assist scientists and fisheries authorities in adapting their analyses and policies to local environmental conditions, thus better balancing the economic aspects of fisheries with conservation and sustainability goals.