A Demo Day for Ropeless Fishing Gear

Written by Jill Harlow, MCFA Chief Operating Officer

Emily and Evan stand at left as the demo prepares to get underway.

Last Tuesday, I headed to Stonington with my colleagues Emily, Emerson, and Evan to join a crew from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries, Sea Grant, and the Island Institute demonstrating different styles of ropeless fishing gear.

It was clear from the minute we arrived that this demo wasn’t about convincing anyone that they should use ropeless. There was open acknowledgement that the technology isn’t perfect.  And recognition that fishermen have the right to be uncertain, fearful, and even angry that they have to consider a future in which they may need to use some type of ropeless gear.

But there was also hope. And gratitude to the fishermen who did show up to ask questions and share concerns, even if they remained adamant that they couldn’t or wouldn’t use the gear.

I’ve admittedly never hauled a lobster trap, and though I’ve checked out the ropeless gear on the shelves of the gear library, this was the first time I’ve seen it hit the water. Here are a few things I learned throughout the day:

• These systems aren’t lobster traps. They replace the buoy on the end of a string of lobster traps (3 to 15 traps connected by a groundline), bringing the endline to the surface so fishermen can grab it and start pulling the string with their hydraulic lift.

  
  

• Several different systems are being tested. Some are designed with mechanical releases that allow a submerged buoy to pop up to the surface. Others fill a lift bag from compressed CO2 tanks to raise the unit to the surface. All would probably benefit from fishermen’s input and continued refinement.

  
  

  

  After deployment, the lift bag system successfully returns to the surface for trap retrieval.

•  All the units were successfully sunk and returned to the surface in response to an acoustic signal multiple times during the demo. There was lots of tinkering throughout the day and conversations about what could be better. There’s still a moment when everyone holds their breath waiting for the acoustic signal to rise each unit to the surface. Reliability is key!

  
  

• They are all heavy and hard to maneuver, especially for one person – even someone used to moving lobster traps. Getting fishermen’s input on the physical wear and tear and safety of moving these around the deck and resetting them is critical.

  
  

•  Sometimes simple stuff gets overlooked. Lift bags might be great, until you realize that the tanks are only good for a couple deployments, then they have to be refilled. Where, as you head east along the coast, is that even possible?

  
  

•  I hadn’t previously given any thought to weight-to-buoyancy ratios. But these units are useless if they don’t settle to the bottom positioned to ensure release. Will these units need to be fine tuned for different depths and substrates?

•  Nobody is really sure how much this gear is going to cost. It’s expensive to be sure, but the price efficiency from pilot to scaled-up manufacturing is still unknown. As is how many units a fisherman would need. Enough for all his strings? Or just a few to weather closures?

  
  

Dockside demos like this are critical. The atmosphere in Stonington was respectful. Even with the skepticism and the criticism.

But more testing needs to happen out on the water, under real conditions. That can only happen if more fishermen can participate without worrying that they will lose the respect of their peers.

I’ve seen a lot of gear testing over the years – to reduce bycatch, improve efficiency. Some bonked. Some served their purpose but ultimately proved too costly or too much of a hassle. Some were adopted and are in use today. But this is the first time I’ve seen fishermen actively turning on other fishermen out of the fear of what a research project means or what it might lead to. –  In response to those threats, there’s a vibe of “selling out” or being a “traitor” underlying the work regardless of the motivation behind participation … even if it might be to learn or to prove how and why ropeless gear doesn’t work in Maine. 

Our Congressional Delegation, the Governor’s office, and the Department of Marine Resources  created time for the lobstermen with the delay that was implemented through Congress. But that clock is ticking, and it needs to be determined what kind of tools we have at our disposal for when the Take Reduction Team starts working on new rules to protect right whales in the Gulf of Maine, no matter how wrong that might feel. 

I don’t know what the future holds for ropeless gear. But we have a window right now in which everyone has space to be open about what works and what doesn’t… and when it could work, and when it couldn’t… and if the answer turns out to be never, to have the data to make that case in a constructive way.