ASHORED INNOVATIONS
Ashored develops sustainability-enabling technologies for the commercial fishing industry. Ashored is currently developing a bottom-bound ropeless fishing system to minimize the risk of whale entanglements and trap loss/damage, while allowing fishers to fish in zones closed to fixed fishing gear. Ashored’s underwater buoy releases work with existing lobster/crab traps and allow for said gear to be activated via acoustics (or a backup timer) to the surface. Once the buoy and connecting rope rise to the surface, fishermen can use existing onboard equipment and processes to retrieve the trap and prepare it for redeployment. Ashored’s ‘MOBI’ ropeless fishing systems include a rope containment and release module that also use machine learning to collect and transmit data to onboard tracking software. Ashored’s ATLAS software and gear tagging allows fishers to track gear, log catches, receive recommendations on gear placement, and locate lost traps.
SMART BUOY SYSTEM
The current process for setting, tracking, and logging lobster and crab traps is inefficient and costly. Along with active and passive retrieval releases, MOBI is being designed to use machine learning to track key variables such as location, date, weather, tides, and water temperature. By using this historical catch data, Ashored will be able to provide lobster and crab fishermen with recommendations on the most effective and efficient conditions and locations to drop their traps, thus increasing their yields and income.
GEAR TRACKER
An estimated 8 to 10 percent of fixed fishing gear is lost each year (worldwide) to propeller damage, storms/currents dragging the buoys to deeper waters where the buoys become submerged, and competitor sabotage. Fishers bear the costs of replacing their frequently lost/damaged gear and the opportunity costs associated with waiting for replacement government tags. Traps left behind on the ocean floor can continue to ghost-fish for years. To address these issues and prevent potential gear overlay, Ashored has developed ATLAS, an RFID and sonar-based gear location, identification, and retrieval system.
