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Satellite broadband breakthrough on the high seas allows for sustainable fishing and breaks the isolation of crews

First study to assess the impact of technology on the fishing industry.

  • Following the full deployment of these systems in the second half of 2019, 404,407 call minutes (6,740 hours) have been used in 2020, with an average usage of six hours per seafarer, shattering the traditional isolation of this activity.
  • Under increased fishing regulations in all oceans, selective smart buoys –which allow for the sustainability of fishing operations by helping to differentiate species– are replacing traditional buoys at a rate of 20% in the last two years.

23 February 2022
la-irrupcion-de-banda-ancha-satelital-en-alta-mar-facilita-la-actividad-pesquera-sostenible-y-rompe-el-aislamiento-de-las-tripulaciones-668863fa Satellite broadband breakthrough on the high seas allows for sustainable fishing and breaks the isolation of crews

According to a study carried out by the Spanish technology company Satlink, the emergence of flat-rate satellite broadband telecommunications for the maritime sector has had a particular impact on the Spanish fishing fleet in two specific areas of its activity. According to the conclusions of the report, those areas are the digitisation of operations –emphasising sustainability aspects– and the improvement of communications in deep-sea fishing, as crews now have the ability to contact their families, thus making a decisive contribution to the so-called social sustainability of the Spanish fleet.

In fact, and based on data from this first study, which has taken the long-distance tuna fishing fleet (Spanish vessels operating in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans) as a reference, the implementation of these new services is having an increasing impact on the use of so-called selective smart buoys. These buoys enable vessels to be informed not only about fish stock location, but also about their volume and the type of species they comprise. This has a direct impact on sustainability by making it possible to discriminate and fish selectively, i.e., to minimise the catch of juvenile fish or species subject to restrictions.

Moreover, since the launch of these new services by Satlink during the second half of 2017, replacement with these types of buoys is starting to spread, especially in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. Growth rates surpass 20% year-on-year in the past two financial years and are forecast to exceed 30% by 2021.

According to Faustino Velasco, president of Satlink, “Fleets are faced with limited buoy use per vessel and progressively restrictive fishing quotas in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, so fishermen are increasingly in need of such a tool. The selective buoy allows them to adjust their activity, respecting quotas, improving the sustainability of fish stocks and ostensibly reducing the carbon footprint of their operations by requiring shorter sailing distances.”

 

Electronic monitoring

Another service to support fishery sustainability that has grown considerably with the launch of satellite technology is the so-called electronic monitoring (EM) service. These systems allow video recording of fishing activity on board in order to subsequently analyse the images and evaluate practices in the treatment of the vessel’s by-catches –i.e., unintentionally caught species– or compliance with regulations, both in terms of fishery and working conditions on board.

Based on the Satlink study, recordings of “days at sea”, in the case of the tuna fleet, have increased at a rate of 30% year-on-year since the deployment of broadband technology on vessels. In other words, while in 2016 there were a total of 2,896 days of recorded activity, in 2020 this figure rose to 8,000 days, mostly with concurrent presence of electronic monitoring and human observers under the control of a flag or coastal state. This allows the coverage of monitoring schemes to be extended, ensuring that observers can continue to carry out their scientific work from land, thanks to the technology.

 

Improving crew communications

Similarly, and from a social sustainability point of view, following the full deployment of these systems (second half of 2019) on the first 28 vessels of this fleet, 404,407 call minutes (6,740 hours) have been used in 2020, with an average usage of six hours for each of the 1,100 seafarers working on board these vessels.

The largest percentage of this total per semester was reached during the first half of 2020, with 229,769 call minutes, at a time when the lockdown due to COVID-19 forced many crews to extend their time away from home, as it was difficult to relieve them.

The study also reveals how service usage increases during certain periods, such as the Christmas holidays. For example, during the months of December 2019 and 2020, records logged over 30,000 call minutes. Similarly, seafarers working in the Atlantic Ocean use these services more frequently, logging 205,000 minutes in 2020, compared to 119,400 minutes for those working in the Indian Ocean and 80,000 minutes for those in the Pacific.

Regarding data traffic (social networks, instant messaging or streaming content), the analysis covers the period from December 2020 to February 2021, and the situation is the opposite: ships operating in the Pacific register the highest consumption with 10,900 GB, followed by those in the Atlantic with 4,500 GB and, lastly, those in the Indian Ocean with 2,500 GB. According to Satlink, this is explained by the longer sailing distance that the Pacific fleet has to travel to reach fishing grounds.

 

Next steps for this technology

One of Satlink’s latest developments is a revolutionary digital system that gathers all the information needed to optimise fishery on a single screen. To this end, the system integrates all relevant real-time data and forecasts for this activity, such as meteorology, oceanography, shoal movements or fish typologies, among others. The system allows fishermen to make more informed decisions, improving the sustainability and efficiency of tuna fishing.

In Faustino Velasco’s words, “fishing is an art and there is no doubt that it will continue to be so, but new technologies will revolutionise this activity just as they have done in other market sectors and industries. The fishing industry will not be left behind, and technology and digitalisation will help shipowners and fishermen to develop their activity in a more efficient, sustainable and cooperative manner.”