Digital trial to modernise rock lobster fishery

1459
Image credit: flickr user: Tim Chong

South Australia’s Southern Zone Rock Lobster Fishery is looking to shed the outdated paper-based recording system and adopt a tablet-based digital record keeping system.

Image credit: flickr user: Gavin
Image credit: flickr user: Gavin

The fishery is currently trialling the Deckhand system, which records catch details while boats are still out on the water and then relays the information directly to the Fisheries Division of Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) and other databases.

According to the news release by Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister Leon Bignell, the technology development was initiated and funded by industry, the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation, and PIRSA.

Mr Bignell said the system streamlined administrative functions, and delivered benefits for fishers and fishery management.

“The South Eastern Professional Fishermen’s Association and PIRSA are conducting the trial with about half the commercial fishing fleet using a combination of the tablet-based application and the old paper-based recording,” he said.

Adertisement

“If the voluntary trial is successful, we hope to see the catch recording process made completely digital for all fishers in the commercial Southern Zone Rock Lobster fishery.”

South Eastern Professional Fishermen’s Association executive officer Justin Phillips said the trial is a move towards a paperless industry, and consolidates e-Scales technology which has been operating in the fishery for seven years.

“If successful, there is no reason why this technology could not be used across the broader industry to achieve a paperless reporting system in the near future,” Mr Phillips said.

The Southern Zone Rock Lobster season continues to 31 May, 2015.