In June 2025, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) tasked staff to
“… prepare a public document that includes the timelines and milestones on the Gear Innovation Initiative, existing or new EFPs on gear modifications, and any other new research to fill the data gaps for pelagic trawl gear identified by the Unobserved Fishing Mortality Working Group.” (June 2025 Pelagic Trawl Gear Innovation Council motion).
The following research projects are reflective of the projects highlighted in the Pelagic Trawl Gear Innovation Discussion Paper, presented at the June 2025 Council meeting (see the C3 agenda item for related documents and presentations), as well as new research. This list is not exhaustive but rather meant to be responsive to the Council motion request. Research summaries are listed below by project name, and each include the date last updated. The summaries are intended to be an iterative reference and will be updated periodically as updates are received. When available, research updates were provided directly from the Principal Investigator (PI).
For more information on data gaps identified by the Unobserved Fishing Mortality Working Group, see their Final Report (June 2024). For further information on past and current Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) and related resources for Alaska, see https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/resources-fishing/exempted-fishing-permits-alaska.
Updates provided by PI, July 2025
Project dates (EFP 2024-02 effective dates): December 2024 – December 2027
EFP permit holders and PIs: Dr. Noëlle Yochum (Trident Seafoods), Shannon Carroll (Trident Seafoods)
Summary:
In October 2024, the Council received a presentation from Dr. Noëlle Yochum and Shannon Carroll from Trident Seafoods discussing ongoing pelagic trawl gear research requiring an EFP to use gear that would otherwise be prohibited from paragraph (14)(vii) of “authorized fishing gear” in § 679.2. In 2023, with approval from NOAA Fisheries, Trident began work to test a footrope modification as a proof of concept for safety, operations, and initial performance. In December 2024, the EFP permit was approved and issued. This EFP is a continuation of this work, with a goal to test iterations of the design across various vessel types and net configurations. The project employs modified footrope designs aimed at maintaining catch efficiency while minimizing seafloor contact by the footrope when targeting pollock on or near the seafloor. An overarching goal in this work is to develop a method by which bottom contact can be determined through visual inspection and physical measurements without the use of sensors. In a pelagic trawl net, the footrope acts as a counter-weight system to ensure the mouth of the net stays open, while the midwater doors spread the net horizontally. The footrope is usually weighted with a length of chain running between bridles to weight the net. In this EFP project, the same amount of weight is rotated 90 degrees with two footropes made of rope materials that are connected from wingtip to wingtip, and smaller sections of chain connecting them, similar to the rungs on a ladder except the chain ‘rungs’ loop down.
Project leads expect that seafloor contact will be reduced as the chains are smaller sections with a width of 2 inches and spaced at least 2 meters apart across the footrope. EFP testing will include varying the number of chains, distance between the chain ‘rungs’, and total overall weight, while maintaining or improving catch efficiency. Project leads plan to test for bottom contact by measurement and documentation of chain ‘shininess’ after each tow, i.e., the amount of chain surface that is shiny due to abrasion from to seafloor contact. In this design, the amount of shininess on the chain equates to the height or clearance of the footrope from the seafloor, not increased contact (N. Yochum, pers. comm.).
Current Status:
Since the implementation of EFP 2024-02, there has been continued testing of the suspended parallel footrope (S.P.F.) on the five original vessels that are participating in this study (C/P Island Enterprise and C/Vs Gladiator, Golden Dawn, Northern Patriot, and Sovereignty). Captains of these vessels collected data during the 2025-A pollock season to provide information about its use, and frequent check-ins were made by EFP PI Dr. Noëlle Yochum (Director, Fishing Innovation & Sustainability; Trident Seafoods) to monitor efficacy and any concerns. Testing on these five vessels continues into the 2025-B pollock season, with the addition of three new nets configured with the S.P.F. on the F/Vs Gladiator, Northern Patriot, and Sovereignty (one each). This will allow for tests of the S.P.F. on nets of different design for those vessels. Dr. Yochum is also preparing for a field test of version 2 of the S.P.F., with systematic testing on the C/P Island Enterprise in July 2025 during B-season fishing. Results from this test will inform the design of the S.P.F. that will be added to other nets going forward. Following this field testing, PIs Yochum and Shannon Carroll will work with the fleet to include other vessels for testing the S.P.F. and will configure a net with the S.P.F. for the remaining Trident vessels that fish for pollock. An update of the work being conducted under this EFP will be presented to the Council in a report in April 2026 and a presentation will be made if requested at that Council meeting. There are no changes to the EFP project timeline or milestones at this time, but with the continued success of this project an extension to the permit might be considered.
Updates provided by PIs, May 2026
Project dates: July 2022 – ongoing
PIs and Collaborators: Fisheries, Aquatic Science & Technology Laboratory (FAST Lab) at Alaska Pacific University, At-Sea Processors Association, United Catcher Boats, Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association, Marine Institute – Memorial University of Newfoundland
General Overview
The Gear Innovation Initiative (GII) is a cooperative research program created by Alaska Pacific University’s Fisheries, Aquatic Science & Technology Lab and industry partners to better understand how fishing gear behaves in the ocean and how, when, and where it interacts with the seafloor. Fishing gears used in North Pacific commercial fisheries – including trawls, dredges, pots, and longlines – can all contact the seabed during fishing operations. However, there has historically been no structured, fishery-wide system for collecting the detailed gear information needed to measure those interactions or improve gear performance.
Because this information has been limited, the Fishing Effects Model (FEM) used to inform fisheries management in the North Pacific and New England regions relies on highly precautionary assumptions about gear-seabed contact. For example, Bering Sea catcher-processor pollock trawls are currently assumed to maintain seabed contact across most of the fished area associated with each fishing event. These assumptions are intended to represent maximum potential contact and do not account for variability or fishing situations where contact may be substantially lower – or may not occur at all – such as during some nighttime or deep-water fishing operations. Although limited direct-contact studies suggest that seabed interaction may vary considerably across fishing conditions and trawl configurations, available information remains insufficient to support changes to current management assumptions. Use of conservative assumptions is consistent with the precautionary approach embedded in U.S. federal fisheries management and has been applied in all past and current FEM analyses.
The GII was developed to improve the scientific information available for fisheries management by documenting fishing gear, measuring how gear is operated, and better characterizing how fishing gears interact with the seafloor under different fishing conditions. Current work focuses on pollock trawls used in North Pacific federal fisheries. Researchers are combining field observations, computer simulations, and controlled flume tank experiments to improve understanding of trawl geometry, forces, and seabed interaction. Planned 2026 projects include testing representative pollock trawls in a flume tank facility operated by the Marine Institute at Memorial University in Newfoundland, Canada, and evaluating experimental seabed-clearance and contact sensors as research tools to support gear-performance assessment and future studies of trawl behavior near the seafloor. Until this work is scientifically reviewed and approved through the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Scientific and Statistical Committee process, the existing precautionary seabed-contact assumptions used in fisheries management will remain in place.
Technical Summary and Current Status
The following section provides a more detailed technical overview of current GII research activities and project status.
The Alaska Pacific University Gear Innovation Initiative (APU-GII) is a cooperative scientific research program led by the Fisheries, Aquatic Science & Technology Laboratory (FAST Lab) at Alaska Pacific University. The initiative was established to provide scientifically robust information on fishing gear performance and seabed interactions to support fisheries management and facilitate iterative, science-based gear innovation.
The APU-GII integrates four core components: 1) development of a comprehensive archive of fishing gear and operational information, 2) construction and testing of computational trawl gear models and fishing simulations, 3) controlled experimental validation and uncertainty characterization, and 4) full-scale field validation of gear geometry, hydrodynamic forces, and seabed interactions during active fishing operations. Together, these components provide the scientific foundation needed to evaluate how gear modifications influence fishing performance, operational efficiency, and benthic habitat interactions.
The GII currently encompasses all pollock trawl gears used in U.S. federal fisheries operating in North Pacific federal fisheries. The project began in 2022 with the U.S. pollock catcher-processor fleet and expanded in 2023 to include pollock trawl gears used throughout North Pacific federal fisheries. This effort is conducted cooperatively with the At-Sea Processors Association, the United Catcher Boats Association/AFA CV Inter-cooperative, the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, and the Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association, which collectively represent the entirety of the federally managed U.S. pollock fishery.
The APU-GII cooperative research process begins with fleet-wide gear documentation. FAST Lab researchers work directly with fishing companies and trawl design and manufacturing firms to systematically document the design, dimensions, materials, and rigging configurations of trawls used within participating fisheries. These efforts produce a detailed gear catalog supported by net plans and technical specifications for individual trawl designs.
Fishing behavior information is collected through structured interviews and questionnaires with vessel operators to develop vessel-specific Fishing Practice Profiles. These profiles describe the operational parameters that govern gear behavior during fishing operations, including towing speed, wire length relative to water depth, and seasonal or regional variation in fishing practices. Fishing Practice Profiles and gear documentation are reviewed collaboratively with vessel operators and participating industry partners throughout the data collection process.
Collaborators at Memorial University’s Marine Institute use the gear catalog, Fishing Practice Profiles, and net plans to construct computational trawl gear models. These models are then used to simulate fishing operations under realistic environmental and operational conditions using purpose-built fishing gear fluid dynamics software (e.g., DynamiT). The resulting fishing simulations are used to estimate gear geometry, hydrodynamic forces, and seabed interactions under representative fishing conditions.
Full-scale field validation is a central component of the project. Vessel operators participating in the GII complete structured haul log sheets during active fishing operations documenting gear configuration, operational conditions, and observed trawl geometry measurements. Gear geometry and force data are collected using calibrated electronic monitoring systems and net-mounted sensors, including Scanmar and Marport instrumentation. Simulation scenarios are then reconstructed to match observed fishing events, allowing direct comparison between simulated and measured trawl performance. These comparisons will be used to evaluate the accuracy and precision of the computational trawl gear models, refine model parameterization where appropriate, and improve confidence in simulation-derived estimates of gear behavior and seabed interaction under real fishing conditions.
In mid-2026, the APU-GII will begin a series of controlled flume tank experiments at the facility operated by the Marine Institute at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. The flume tank program serves as the experimental validation and uncertainty characterization component of the broader GII framework. It integrates field observations reported through vessel-based haul log programs with controlled gear trials. Following the structured gear evaluation framework described by Nguyen and Winger (2016), the program is designed to 1) evaluate, validate, and refine computational trawl gear models and fishing simulations, 2) more accurately characterize model and simulation uncertainty under controlled and repeatable conditions, and 3) establish a standardized workflow linking computational modeling, flume tank testing, and full-scale field observations to support objective and quantitative assessment of fishing gear performance characteristics. This integrated framework supports both descriptive applications, including refinement of Fishing Effects Model gear parameters, and comparative analyses evaluating the performance and seabed interaction characteristics of gear innovations and modifications.
Initial flume tank experiments will focus on three catcher-processor (CP) trawl models (Models A, B, and C) that collectively account for approximately 55% of the trawls documented within the CP fleet. Trawl A represents the most common design in the fleet (n = 28; 32%), followed by Trawl B (n = 11; 12%) and Trawl C (n = 8; 9%). Computational trawl gear models and baseline fishing simulations have been completed for all three trawl designs. In parallel, field-validation datasets have been developed through vessel-based haul log programs in which vessel operators document gear configuration, operational conditions, and observed trawl geometry measurements during active fishing operations. To date, haul log datasets include 11 haul logs and 36 individual geometry entries for Trawl A collected across five vessels during the 2025 A and B seasons; two haul logs and nine individual entries for Trawl B collected during the 2025 B and 2026 A seasons; and six haul logs and 16 individual entries for Trawl C collected from two vessels during the 2025 B season. Together, these datasets provide the empirical foundation for integrating fishing simulations, controlled flume tank experiments, and full-scale field observations within the GII validation framework.
The flume tank program will also include experimental evaluation of seabed clearance and contact sensors intended to support future research on pelagic trawl footrope behavior and seabed interaction dynamics. These sensors are being evaluated as research tools to support gear-performance assessment, simulation validation, and comparative evaluation of gear innovations and modifications, rather than as operational tools for fleet-wide seabed-contact monitoring or regulatory enforcement. Initial work will focus on controlled testing of experimental tilt-based sensing systems (e.g., Star-Oddi DST Tilt and ZebraTech Moana) mounted on representative sections of full-scale footrope under known contact and clearance conditions. Planned June 2026 flume tank trials will evaluate sensor performance characteristics, including calibration, noise, lag, attachment stability, anti-twist rigging approaches, and vibration sensitivity under controlled hydrodynamic conditions. The broader objective is to improve methods for experimentally characterizing intermittent and spatially variable seabed contact and to support integration of observational data with computational trawl gear models, fishing simulations, and controlled flume tank experiments.
The APU-GII will provide updated information on gear dimensions and seabed contact to support the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Essential Fish Habitat 5-Year Review and other Council needs related to fishing activity and gear characterization, including unobserved fishing mortality assessments. Specifically, gear catalog information and simulation-derived estimates of nominal gear width and seabed contact may help inform future refinement of pollock trawl gear parameters incorporated into the Fishing Effects Model and related management decision-support tools. As with all scientific information used in federal fisheries management, GII-derived results must undergo scientific review through the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee process before they can be considered for management applications. Until that review occurs, existing precautionary seabed-contact assumptions used in fisheries management will remain in place.
Fleet Status Updates
Bering Sea Catcher Processors
For Catcher Processors (CPs) fishing in North Pacific federal fisheries, there are currently 11 active vessels (research began with 12 vessels) and 84 individual trawls documented in the gear catalog. BS CPs have completed initial gear inventory, fishing practice profiles, gear verification, and net plan collection. Haul log sheets were collected during the 2025 A season, 2025 B season, and 2026 A season, and collection will continue through the 2026 B season. Simulations for CP gear are currently underway.
Next steps include conducting controlled flume tank experiments at the facility operated by the Marine Institute at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. Representative trawl models currently used within the pollock CP fleet will be evaluated to quantify trawl geometry and force metrics and support validation and refinement of computational trawl gear models and fishing simulations.
Bering Sea Catcher Vessels
For Catcher Vessels (CVs) fishing in North Pacific federal fisheries, there are currently 58 active vessels and 118 individual trawls documented in the gear catalog. For BS CVs, 56 out of the 58 active vessels have completed the initial gear inventory request for the catalog. Fishing practice profiles and gear verification are ongoing, and to date 43 vessels have completed this component. Net plan collection is ongoing.
Haul log sheets were collected during the 2025 B season and 2026 A season, and collection will continue through the 2026 B season. At this time, no simulations have been conducted for this fleet. Simulation scenarios will be constructed following completion of gear collection, fishing practice profiles, gear verification, net plan collection, and submission of sufficient haul log datasets.
Gulf of Alaska Catcher Vessels
For Catcher Vessels (CVs) fishing in North Pacific federal fisheries, there are currently 39 active vessels (38 vessels participating in GII) and 68 individual trawls documented in the gear catalog. For GOA CVs, all participating vessels have completed the initial gear collection request for the catalog, fishing practice profiles, and gear verification. Net plan collection is ongoing.
Haul log sheets were collected during the 2025 B season and 2026 A season, and collection will continue through the 2026 B season. At this time, no simulations have been conducted for this fleet. Simulation scenarios will be constructed following completion of gear collection, fishing practice profiles, gear verification, net plan collection, and submission of sufficient haul log datasets.
Crossover Vessels
There are currently 12 active Catcher Vessels (CVs) fishing across North Pacific federal fisheries, referred to as Crossover Vessels, and 27 individual trawls documented in the gear catalog. For BS/GOA CVs, all active vessels have completed the initial gear collection request for the catalog, fishing practice profiles, and gear verification. Net plan collection is ongoing.
Haul log sheets were collected during the 2025 B season and 2026 A season, and collection will continue through the 2026 B season. At this time, no simulations have been conducted for this fleet. Simulation scenarios will be constructed following completion of gear collection, fishing practice profiles, gear verification, net plan collection, and submission of sufficient haul log datasets.
Updates provided by PIs, July 2025
Project dates: January 2024 – ongoing
PIs and Collaborators: Erin Fedewa (Lead PI, NOAA AFSC), Sean Hardison (UAF Research Associate), Franz Mueter (UAF), Mike Litzow (NOAA AFSC), Leah Zacher (NOAA AFSC), Emily Ryznar (NOAA AFSC), Brad Harris (APU), T. Scott Smeltz (APU), Jamie Goen (ABSC), Scott Goodman (BSFRF), Krista Milani (AKRO)
Abstract:
Evaluating the potential for fishery gear interactions with Bering Sea crab stocks remains challenging because seasonal movement and spatial distributions of crab during winter and spring groundfish fisheries are poorly characterized. Furthermore, recent climate-driven distribution shifts of crab stocks may increase the potential for crab bycatch in areas open to trawling year-round, highlighting challenges with static habitat closure areas such as the Red King Crab Savings Area. Fishery managers lack quantitative tools and modeling frameworks to assess the potential for crab-fishing gear overlap, and evaluate the efficacy of alternative spatial management measures (e.g., location, timing, and size of spatial management areas) to inform decision-making. In response to these critical data gaps, the overall goal of this project is to develop fisheries management tools to resolve seasonal distributions of Bering Sea crab stocks, predict the probability of fishery interactions with crab, and evaluate the efficacy of spatial closure areas in the Bering Sea. Specific objectives include: 1) develop movement-integrated species distribution models to project crab distributions into fall/winter months using satellite tag data, 2) quantify spatial overlap of fishery gear interactions, and 3) evaluate the effectiveness of existing static closure areas and proposed dynamic closure areas in Bristol Bay.
Project objectives/milestones and approximate timing for each:
Objective 1) Develop movement-integrated species distribution models to project crab distributions into fall/winter months: Mature male BBRKC model complete (manuscript in review), mature female BBRKC model will be developed this fall/winter 2025 Objective 2) Quantify spatial overlap of fishery gear interactions: Analysis currently underway using hybrid SDMs from Objective 1 and Fishing Effects bottom contact estimates, preliminary results expected by winter 2025 Objective 3) Evaluate the effectiveness of existing static closure areas and proposed dynamic closure areas in Bristol Bay: Analysis planned for early-mid 2026 following the completion of Objective 2 analysis
Current status:
Dr. Hardison has led efforts to develop a hybrid SDM to project the distribution of mature male BBRKC from summer to fall. A manuscript will be submitted to a pre-print server within the next month to facilitate rapid disseminate of results, and will be submitted simultaneously to a journal for full peer review. Dr. Hardison has begun work on developing a similar hybrid SDM for mature female BBRKC, and projections of BBRKC distributions will be overlaid with bottom contact estimates from the APU Fishing effects model to estimate the probability of fishery gear interactions with Bristol Bay red king crab. APU collaborators will be updating the FE model with fishery data from 2021-2023 and developing of a points-in-area based event modeling framework to the FE model workflow in fall/winter 2025.
Updated April 2025
Project dates (EFP effective dates 2025-01): May 2025 – September 2025
Project PIs and collaborators: John Gauvin (NPFRF), Andrea Keikkala (NPFRF), Susie Zagorski (AFA CV Intercoop Manager), Heather Mann (MTA), Austin Estabrooks (APA), David Irvine (former captain CP Starbound), Seamus Melly (Swan Nets USA)
Summary:
In April 2025, the Council reviewed an application for an EFP submitted by Mr. John Gauvin, under contract with North Pacific Fisheries Research Foundation (EFP 2025-01). The EFP permit for this application was issued in May of 2025.
The project team plans to develop and test salmon excluders in the BS pollock fishery to optimize salmon escapement under summer fishing conditions where chum salmon is the primary salmon species encountered as bycatch in the pollock fishery. The project team plans to conduct field testing in July and August 2025 during the fishery’s “B” season. The project team plans to test a new excluder design that will be installed further forward in the net, compared to currently available salmon excluders. The new excluder will be located where the diameter of the trawl net is much larger and the main focus for EFP testing will be on determining the best location for the new excluder in terms of creating an improved opportunity for salmon escapement while minimizing pollock loss. The team will deploy cameras, echosounders, and light meters in various sections of the net to help understand how fish move through different sections of the net. This should better allow salmon to access the escapement portal(s) because there is more room and less congestion for salmon to find their way to the exit portal as they move back through the net with the target catch. As described in the EFP application, the team plans to start by testing the salmon excluder in aft sections of the net (likely 8-inch mesh) and move forward to larger mesh sections, no larger than 32-inch mesh. This EFP will use data collected in the field from vessel’s headrope sonar, an echosounder located in the mesh sections of interest, and cameras to make decisions for each EFP vessel regarding assessment of how fish move through the net and eventually where to cut out the excluder portals for preliminary assessment of escapement potential for this new excluder design.
Updated August 2025
Project dates: ongoing
Project PIs and collaborators: Dr. Craig Rose (FishNext Research), David Barbee (Simrad)
Summary:
Dr. Craig Rose and Mr. David Barbee are currently working on further testing and development of an active selection (ActSel) bycatch reduction device, funded by the NOAA Bycatch Reduction Engineering P (BREP) program. This work is an example of an iterative project with industry collaboration. An active selection bycatch reduction device allows operators to selectively release unwanted fish by triggering the movement of a mesh panel that covers a release opening. The custom bycatch reduction device is a system that includes a mesh panel attached to a hydrodynamic kite, control lines to adjust the kite’s orientation, a live feed camera system via a third wire, and an electromechanical reel to control the system (i.e., the trigger mechanism). The operator must continuously monitor real-time video feed to determine when to trigger the release mechanism. This bycatch reduction device involves active selection, meaning operators can open and close the mesh panel at will, as compared to other passive systems where there is no trigger mechanism. It has been tested in the Pacific hake fishery and the Alaska pollock fishery, and initial results were published (Rose and Barbee, 2022). Further testing will include interactions of the ActSel systems with various bycatch excluder devices and vessel configurations during normal fishing practices, working closely with industry partners to get feedback. The publication indicated that the speed at which the operator could shift between capture and release modes (i.e., opening and closing the mesh panel; ~10 sec) was likely not fast enough for individual fish selection but would be useful for releasing fish that linger in the target area, when the proportion of bycatch is high, or during setting and retrieval. The authors also indicate that the system would be greatly enhanced if video analysis was automated, alleviating the need to continuously monitor trawl videos.
According to a recent news article, technological hardware development and a recent round of NMFS BREP funding allow the PIs to focus on getting fishermen to use the technology for wider adoption.
Rose, C. and Barbee, D. 2022. Developing and testing a novel active-selection (ActSel) bycatch reduction device to quickly alternate trawls between capture and release configurations with real-time triggering. Fisheries Research. https://oi.org/10.1016/j.fishres.2022.106380.
Updated by PIs August 2025
Proposed project dates: TBD 2026 (start postponed due to delayed funding)
Project PIs and collaborators: Scott Goodman (BSFRF), Cory Lescher (BSFRF), Kyle Antonelis (NRC Inc.), Dr. Gordon Kruse (BSFRF), Dr. Timothy Loher (BSFRF), Madison Heller-Shipley (BSFRF/NRC Inc.), Charles Heller-Shipley (BSFRF/NRC Inc.), Dr. William Christopher Long (NOAA AFSC), Mark Stichert (ADF&G), Dr. Ben Daly (ADF&G), Katie Palof (ADF&G), Dr. Mike Litzow (NOAA AFSC)
Abstract:
The Bristol Bay red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus, BBRKC) stock supports an iconic and economically important fishery in Alaska (Garber-Yonts et al., 2023). Over the last decade, biomass trends have reflected a persistent decline, leading to the closure of two recent seasons (Palof, 2024). The current stock status reflects the ongoing crises for several Alaska crab stocks, and federal disaster relief programs are in place to provide economic support to stakeholders (ADFG, 2024a). Importantly, disaster relief has also specified funds to support research that is prioritized by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC, 2024a). Current management approaches to protect and rebuild the BBRKC stock are focused primarily on existing harvest guidelines and spatiotemporal area closures (NPFMC, 2022). Recent research has focused on seasonal distribution, tagging, and movement of BBRKC, as part of the strategy for ongoing disaster relief research (Loher et al., 2024). Impacts from unobserved fishing mortality (UFM) have been identified as a high-priority crab research topic, but there is a lack of focused UFM research to date (NPFMC, 2024b). This proposed research is part of a cross-sector strategy to understand mobile and fixed gear impacts on crab. Our proposed research narrows the focus to fixed gear with a simulation of ‘lost’ pots from the BBRKC fishery. ‘Lost’ pots would be placed initially as typical crab pots (baited, placed during open season) and left on the grounds for monitoring for one year. The simulation objectives are to document the timing of escape mechanism engagement (biotwine release) and time-lapse photo encounters of BBRKC in the pots. Biotwine release timing is intended to be tested using pop-up satellite tags. Photos from crab encounters will be recorded from remote marine cameras in pots. This proposed work uniquely focuses on data collection in the Bering Sea under actual crab fishing conditions.
See September 2025 CPT presentation by Scott Goodman (BSFRF) on crab research updates.