Monitoring Fisheries Effort and Catch Using a Geographical Information System and a Global Positioning System

At the present time most of the world's commercial fishing vessels are using manual data-logging systems, many of which incorporate crude geo-referencing of fishery activities. Additionally, many fishery management problems are concerned with variations or inequities in the spatial domain. To overcome these problems, an integrated Fisheries Computer Aided Monitoring system (FISHCAM) has been designed and is illustrated here. The system presently integrates a Geographical Information System (GIS) and a Global Positioning System (GPS) with a relational database which may be housed in an on-board computer. The main functionality is in producing a range of graphical, textual and mapping output. Since the database is linked to a proprietary GIS, it has the capacity for integration with a wide range of external data sets, i.e. for any spatial and temporal analyses which fisheries managers might require. Observations are also made on the system's important implementation considerations.