Welcome to the NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Study Fleet Website

Study fleets are a subset of fishing vessels from which high quality, self-reported data on fishing effort, area fished, gear characteristics, catch, and biological observations are collected. Participating vessels fish in commercial mode, and are selected to be representative of the larger fleet over time. The data collected from these vessels can be used to supplement the stock assessment process.

The NEFSC Study Fleet program was initiated with the dual objectives of: (1) assembling a “study fleet” of commercial New England vessels capable of providing high resolution (temporal and spatial) self-reported data on catch, effort and environmental conditions while conducting “normal” fishing operations; and (2) developing and implementing electronic reporting hardware and software (our Electronic Logbook System) for the collection, recording, and transferring of more accurate and timely fishery-based data. The Study Fleet Program is now in Phase III of development. For more information on Phases I & II, please see our Program History page. To learn more about what we're doing in Phase III, please see our Current Activities.

The NEFSC Study Fleet Program is a Cooperative Research program. Cooperative Research is designed to bring stakeholders together in a spirit of mutual participation, enabling an environment of shared knowledge and collaborative management strategies. As such, the Study Fleet program provides several benefits to its commercial participants including:

• Participate directly in the scientific data collection process
• Provide input into the development of electronic reporting technology
• Share ideas and observations with fisheries scientists
• Gain insight into how environmental factors influence catch rates
• Financial compensation for time and effort involved

 

Please visit the our Cooperative Research page for more information about the entire NEFSC Cooperative Research Program