At-Sea Data Collection in the Salmon Fisheries Using GPS-Enabled Android

Fisheries today are challenged with the overfishing of desired species, catching of weak stocks, and understanding the migration patterns of fish in changing oceanographic conditions. Geospatial techniques and the use of GPS have opened up a new possibilities for data collection and visualization, providing tools to assist fishers, fishery managers, and scientists in better managing the fisheries. Over the past several years, systems have been developed to do the data collection, but they have been bulky, difficult to operate, and pricey. With the advent of smart phones and tablets, rich in features such as wireless communications, GPS, and significant processing power comes an opportunity to jump start the process, providing low cost and easy to use products.

This paper presents the results of research conducted to develop and field an at-sea data collection system using devices and technologies such as the Nook tablet reader, an Android-based smartphone, and Bluetooth and wireless. The paper explores the usability issues associated with fielding electronic equipment onboard the decks of fishing vessels operating at sea in the Pacific northwest, and makes recommendations  for improvements to the positioning and communication technology, operational deployment, and application to data collection at sea.