Marimsys Real Time Catch Report

Real Time Catch Information for Fishing Fleets

When a fishing boat lands a net or longline of fish, the first step has been taken in getting the catch to market.  Later steps include on-board processing, transferring the catch to trucks at the dock, movement into a processing plant, and the intermediate or final processing that may take place in that plant.  Subsequently the fish moves toward the consumer in several more steps involving additional processing  and intermediate distribution steps until it reaches the final point at which the consumer will purchase the fish.

The Marimsys Real Time Catch Report provides information as to each catch, the shoot and haul (date, time, position, water temperature, depth, sea state) – for both the beginning and end of the haul. As the fish are processed, the report provides for the addition of the specific species and amounts caught, or the products produced from the catch, including specific listings of any by-catch.

In the status bar of the Real Time Catch Report displays Latitude, Longitude, Course, Speed, water temperature and depth, depending upon the NMEA 0183 transducers connected to the system.

Towards JIT and improved decision making

With automatically received catch data in an open database ashore, the programming of logistical tasks such as the calculation of on-board inventory in real time, shore plant processing requirements and material needs, and transport of raw catch and semi-processed components move toward fully automated JIT systems. Operator time to produce the reports is significantly reduced, as re-transcription errors of radio-transmitted catch reports, due to the design of Marimsys Real Time Catch Reports which collect the maximum amount of information automatically.

It is important to minimize the time taken in all of these steps, and to maximize the accuracy of catch data collection. With this initial data, it becomes possible to track the fish through each step to ensure quality control and the synchronization of later steps in the process; traceability of fish requires this initial collection of catch data to begin the custodial data chain.  One of the most important later uses of the database is marketing: how much fish, of what type will the company have to sell on what day and in which market.

Steps required to transmit a Marimsys Real Time Catch Report

The Captain presses a button to “Begin Trawl”,

another button to “End Trawl”

and the system collects the data from connected transducers.

The Captain or responsible person enters the catch

Transmit the Marimsys Real Time Catch Report

All Real Time Catch Reports are encoded for privacy of communications.

The information in the Real Time Catch report is automatically received ashore and written directly to a MS SQL or MS Access open database.

It becomes possible to link marketing – What can we sell for what price? - to operations questions such as, “What can we produce? With this analysis the optimization of each catch as to products desired by the market becomes possible to maximize the value-added of each catch.

A great way to begin the movement of fish from ocean to plate is with Marimsys Real Time Catch Information.  As each catch is brought aboard, the vital information to track that catch is dispatched via satellite to the home office of the fishing company.   As these catch reports flow in throughout the day, the catch database is updated and summary reports can be generated from the system as management needs dictate.   Likewise reports can be generated to the processing plant:  How many tons of what fish will arrive - and how many people will be needed to process them, at what time?

Regulatory aspects of Real Time Capture Reports

Most sovereign fishing authorities require fishing reports for each voyage. The shore server side of Marimsys Real Time Catch Reports is typically configured to emit a trial catch report for analysis, and then emit – in the precise format required by the National Fishing Authority – the final catch report to be submitted to the Authority whether in digital or paper form.

One of the principal problems in resource management, working toward the difficult goal of “maximum sustainable yield” is the quality of stock information reaching marine biologists. Improvements in the quality and speed of this data typically improve the quality of biologists analysis and projection of stocks. With higher quality stock estimates it becomes possible to make more precise area closures and thereby minimize interference with fishing activities. The actual catch data of fishermen received by marine biologists in real-time is a far superior information source for biologists than many existing methods of stock-assessment.

In a National Fishing System where Real Time Catch Reporting is required, the system, configured to operate with a copy of the data automatically relayed to the National Fishing Authority, provides a consultable database located within the National Fishing Authority for the verification of the amount of fish aboard each vessel – in real time. This permits fishing management enforcement vessels and personnel to input queries into that database over the ORBCOMM network as to the fish aboard a particular vessel and receive a report, “as of date / time, vessel ‘x’ has aboard, species #1 – x units, species #2 – x units, bycatch species A – x units etc. This “reported catch” can then easily be compared with the catch found aboard the vessel in a physical inspection.