The Directorate of Fisheries ensures responsible management of the ocean's resources
Norway is one of the world's leading ocean nations. Hundreds of thousands of people have the ocean as their workplace, and together they contribute around 70% of Norway's export revenues. This includes oil and gas, the maritime sector and seafood (Regjeringen.no). 2021 was a record year for Norwegian seafood exports: Norway exported 3.1 million tonnes of seafood worth more than NOK 120 billion. It goes without saying that we must manage the ocean's resources sustainably if the ocean is to remain the country's largest source of income and employment in the years ahead (Mn24, 2022).
In Norway, the Directorate of Fisheries is the government's principal advisory and executive body for fisheries management. The Directorate carries out resource control in active cooperation with the Coast Guard, the fishermen's sales organisations, the customs and tax authorities, the police, the prosecuting authority and control bodies in other countries (Directorate of Fisheries, 2011).
Much of what the Directorate of Fisheries inspects takes place below the surface, which makes top-quality equipment essential. They use technological solutions such as large and small ROVs.
The Directorate of Fisheries uses Blueye underwater drones for many of its tasks
We had a chat with Jørgen Wiig at the Directorate of Fisheries to get an insight into how they use ROVs from Blueye to follow up the fisheries and aquaculture industries with inspections of what goes on below the surface.
Jørgen is a marine biologist by training and has worked as an inspector at the Directorate of Fisheries since 2013. He mainly serves as an inspector on board the Directorate's high-speed patrol boats, where his main focus is coastal fishing activity.
Jørgen explains that the Directorate of Fisheries operates three high-speed boats, each of which is now equipped with its own Blueye ROV. The boats carried larger ROVs for a long time, but these were rarely used as they were not very user-friendly.
The Blueye drones are very user-friendly. They don't need external power, the tether is thin and they are very easy to handle. Being able to use familiar equipment such as tablets and smartphones with the ROV is also a big plus.
- Jørgen Wiig, Inspector, Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries
Blueye ROVs are often the first choice because they need no shore power
The use of ROVs has increased massively since they got Blueye on board, mainly because of the user-friendliness, Jørgen tells us. The boats the Directorate of Fisheries uses on duty do not necessarily have easy access to power, which makes it all the more important that the drone can run on battery alone.
Jørgen also highlights the Blueye drone's unique design, which makes it easy to manoeuvre since the tether is thin and soft. The equipment also takes up little space on board. Another big plus is that they can pilot the drone from wherever they want.
Documented 5-10 tonnes of mackerel on the seabed with an ROV
Following a tip-off about suspected dumping of dead mackerel at Sotra in Øygarden municipality, the Directorate of Fisheries used a Blueye underwater drone to find many tonnes of dead mackerel.
Failing to report the dumping of large quantities of fish leads to errors in the quota accounts, which in turn increases the potential for overfishing. For mackerel this is serious, as the total catch quotas are already set higher than scientists recommend. All fish caught must be counted against the quotas and entered into the resource accounts.
The Directorate of Fisheries takes such behaviour very seriously, Thord Monsen, head of the Directorate's control section, told the newspaper VG. Fortunately, these quantities of mackerel were found and documented so that they can be included in the quota accounts.
Dumping mackerel is illegal. This is serious environmental crime, a waste of resources and theft of the community's resources.
- Fredrik Myhre of the environmental organisation WWF, speaking to VG.
The aquaculture industry inspects its own nets, fish and pens with ROVs
Although the Directorate of Fisheries supervises the aquaculture industry, that does not mean the industry does not carry out inspections of its own. Fish farms are required to carry out daily checks, and small ROVs have become an important tool in daily operations.
ROV inspections are meant to catch holes and wear in the nets, among other things, which helps prevent fish escapes from the pens. If an accident does happen, it is the Directorate of Fisheries' job to follow up. Good reports documenting what has been done previously are then important.
Even though fish farmers carry out frequent internal inspections with ROVs, the Directorate of Fisheries still reports cases of net damage that should have been discovered. According to the Directorate, there are several reasons why such damage is not picked up during internal inspections. The most important are:
The quality of the equipment used is not good enough. The Directorate of Fisheries points out that if a fish farmer chooses to carry out inspections with an ROV, they must make sure the inspection is of the necessary quality. This covers both the quality of the equipment used and the operator having the qualifications needed to handle it.
The whole pen has not been inspected. The operator must follow a dive pattern that produces the images needed, and the same route must be followed every time.
Too few operators. Many ROVs have several cameras, each connected to its own screen. This makes it challenging for a single operator to catch everything being filmed in real time. If several screens are in use, several people should be watching.
Although accidents are reported that were caused by damage to pens which should have been discovered earlier, there are plenty of success stories too. The fish farming company Egil Kristoffersen and Sons has never had salmon escape from its fish farms, largely thanks to good routines for inspections at its sites.
The Directorate of Fisheries sees room for improvement in the quality of the reports produced after an inspection. Unfortunately, reports from net inspections often contain less information than ordinary dive reports, such as the duration of the inspection with start and end times. Video recording should also become part of the routine, as storing good-quality images and video is important for documenting the condition of the net (Directorate of Fisheries, 2021).
At Blueye, we have developed our own reporting system based on a standard dive log. Blueye users can download it after an inspection and use it as it is, or add more information in the form of images and text.
We at Blueye greatly appreciate the trust shown by the Directorate of Fisheries and are pleased that our underwater drones play an important role in their work. Together we can help the industries develop in a sustainable direction that is good for animal welfare, the ocean and the continued growth of the fishing industry.
Sources:
- MN24. (5 January 2022). Rekordår for eksport av norsk sjømat. Retrieved from: Mn24
- Directorate of Fisheries. (2011). Livet i havet - Vårt felles ansvar: Årsrapport fra Fiskeridirektoratet 2011. www.fiskeridir.no
- Directorate of Fisheries. (30 November 2021). Notinspeksjon med ROV: Fleire tilfelle der skadane på nota ikkje vart oppdaga. Retrieved from: Fiskeridirektoratet
- Fidjestad. (6 November 2021). Fiskeridirektoratet: Tonnevis av makrell kastet på havet. Retrieved from: VG
