GEARNET - A fishing gear conservation engineering network for the Northeast Groundfish fishery

Do you want to have a say in what research is carried out by your sector?

GEARNET is taking a bottom-up approach, and we are interested in meeting with you and your sector to hear about your most pressing groundfish research needs. Our goal is to address top priority gear research needs, through pilot-scale projects with each groundfish sector and the common pool.

• Are you struggling to fish your target species because you run into fish for which you have no allocation?

• Would you like to try using equipment that lets you know when your net is full, or how your net is performing?

• Do you have ideas for improving your gear’s selectivity, but can’t afford to make the changes?

• Would you like to try a separator trawl? Or other bycatch reduction designs that you’ve heard about but don’t have access to?

• Are you interested in improving the fuel and energy efficiency of your vessel and lowering your operating costs?

• Do you want to help collect information that may contribute to improving the accuracy of stock assessments?

Many of GEARNET's participants fish or work in multiple fisheries, and may therefore also be involved with other gear conservation engineering networks that have been funded under the same initiative, for example, REDNET, SQUIDNET and FAST. We welcome interested parties to contact us to learn how to become involved, or what role they might play in this network.

Photo from Shelly Tallack (GMRI) on the FV Elizabeth: A clean catch of haddock caught by trawl.