Archipelago provides electronic monitoring equipment (EM) and services to groundfish trawl vessels in the Pacific region. These services follow the management and monitoring requirements of the fishery. First, EM services include supplying equipment and technical support. The team also manages and processes EM data, then shares the results with industry and DFO stakeholders. In addition, program services cover the collection and processing of electronic at sea EM data, profiling fishing effort and catch, and categorizing at sea releases. Furthermore, Archipelago integrates EM data with dockside monitoring and fisher log data to detail catch for quota management. The team also prepares EM data and reports and shares the results with DFO and industry stakeholders.
Throughout the program history, Archipelago has met regularly with industry and DFO representatives to discuss the program, identify challenges and opportunities to improve data collection, and confirm that the program meets its objectives. In addition, Archipelago prepares program summaries and brings them to fishery advisory committee meetings to support program implementation, development and review. Finally, the groundfish trawl EM program continues to evolve as the fishery and management requirements change.