eLog technology for the commercial fishing industry: Is it working and what can be learnt from International Experience?

Two fundamental obstacles facing resource management within the fishing industry are the lack, or poor quality, of available data on fishing operations, and the mechanisms through which such data is recorded and transmitted. Current, paper-logbooks are inconsistent, often illegible, and cause significant delays in delivery. Fishing operations are, by nature, dynamic, and fish are an ever-moving resource. By the time data reaches the decision-makers on land, has been “cleaned up”, verified and manually typed up (weeks/months later), they become less relevant to the operation happening at sea.

In response many nations, but notably the EU implanted an Electronic Log Book (eLog) program with the aim to replace the present paper based data collection system with an electronic one. The introduction of eLog technology in the EU and other nations met with significant resistance from many commercial fishers and is marred with many technical political, financial and even social problems.

OLRAC SPS, a South African company, developed an electronic logbook, OLRAC-Dynamic Data Logger (DDL), aimed at overcoming issues of data quality and delivery. The OLRAC software reads GPS input and incorporates GIS capabilities for viewing of vessel movements and other operational data.  Data are captured in real-time and/or in post-event mode and can be reported at sea or after catch is landed. The OLRAC software also includes a standalone Meta Shore database and a web-based data management hub (OLRAC Reports Management System: OLRAC-RMS). OLRAC SPS participated in many eLog projects around the world and the paper is a short review of its experience in this field.