The purse seiner Torre Giulia, owned by Italian company Industria Armatoriale Tonniera, is participating in an experiment with on board video monitoring.
The Torre Giulia is the second purse seine tuna vessel in the world to employ an electronic video monitoring system designed for instances where an onboard human observer is not a practical nor safe option, or to supplement human observers. Experts from Archipelago Marine Research Ltd., have outfitted the vessel with an array of sensors to monitor key fishing gear, and trigger the video cameras when it detects fishing activity.
An onboard control center manages the system and logs the data, along with vessel location, speed, and heading information provided by the system’s GPS receiver. Throughout the trip, the system also delivers hourly updates via satellite, reporting vessel position, fishing activity, and other relevant information. Once the vessel returns to port, any portion of the logged data can be reviewed to help evaluate fishing activity.
Currently the Torre Giulia is participating in a by-catch project investigating the impact of FADs and the generated by-catch. The project is a joint effort by the European-funded project Mitigating ADverse Ecological impacts of open ocean fisheries (MADE) and the ISSF.