Generating accurate catch data efficiently is a key challenge in assessing levels of compliance and monitoring and successful implementation of the landing obligation.

Data collected and analysed by the SMARTFISH H2020 systems in WP 2, WP4 and WP5 will provide critical data for stock assessment purposes and in turn information for monitoring compliance with fisheries regulations, both directly as part of assessment surveys and indirectly from commercial fishing activities. This is achieved by introducing parts of the new SMARTFISH H2020 systems (CatchScanner, CatchSnap and CatchMonitor) for automatic analysis of the catches brought aboard fishing vessels or research vessels carrying out surveys.

These data collection systems, when implemented at an EU level for fisheries, will improve compliance with fisheries regulations, reduce costs of fisheries monitoring (because of automation of monitoring through data systems), and provide data for management purposes (e.g. stock assessments and quota distributions).

The reduction of illegal, unreported and unregulated fisheries (IUU) will be a natural extension of this, as the fishing sector will be automatically monitored for policy improvement and compliance purposes. Non-compliance is often driven by regulation that is not legitimatised by fishers. We believe that the better the information, the better the decisions based upon it, and the more confidence all actors have in those decisions. Improving the evidence base on catches will improve management advice, compliance and reduce IUU fishing.

In wild fish production, the extraction phase is the most energy demanding and impactful; so the greatest benefits to the value chain, and to improved sustainability, are achieved through efficiencies at the extraction phase. A collection of systems based on state-of-the-art technology is developed for the fisheries extraction sector of European fisheries. Together, they address improving resource efficiency at different steps of the fisheries extraction phase.

SMARTFISH H2020 will optimise the use of resources for data collection by introducing and utilising among others artificial intelligence and machine learning methods for automatic capture and processing (WP1, WP2 and WP4) of data on the catches brought aboard fishing vessels. In addition, SMARTFISH H2020 will also use data analysis, smart phones/tablets and LED-light technology, acoustic technology, and ROV technology. The technologies incorporated into the project have been selected based on a review of state-of-the-art technologies available from other sectors. The data collected on board fishing vessels will support business decision making, fisheries monitoring, fisheries management and data collection for stock assessment purposes.

In WP6–10, we will test, adapt and verify the different technological innovations in different seas and with different gear types to ensure that the SMARTFISH H2020 system has broad stakeholder legitimacy.

In addition to the natural impact of making the catch more efficient, thereby minimizing the environmental impact beyond the allocated quotas, the SMARTFISH H2020 impact also have global impacts in terms of contributing to limiting the effects of climate change. The 2015 Paris Agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C and emission reduction is a critical ambition of the Agreement. The EU has been at the forefront of international efforts towards an encompassing and lasting agreement for climate action, with high ambitions, and has a target of emission reductions by at least 40% by 2030. Implementation of SMARTFISH H2020 systems throughout the EU fishing fleet can contribute to this reduction. We have derived that emission savings could be in the amount of 110 million litres of fuel saves at least 163,900 tons of CO2 , as a most conservative estimate, assuming the most efficient vessels and fishing methods. A more sophisticated estimate across vessel types, geography, typical engines and fishing methods may increase the estimate by a factor of 3–4. Marine diesel contains approximately four times as much NOx as diesel for cars, and a considerable amount of other GHGs is also foreseen to be saved.

The sustainability impact rests on the application of technology that will enhance monitoring of fishing operations for fisheries data collection in order to aid business and science as well as enforcement agencies. For example, generating detailed catch information, will simultaneously enable improved management of the resource and better commercial business decision making by the industry. To enable long term sustainable fisheries and a healthy marine environment, information on the resource is required, and the better the information, the better the decisions based upon it, and furthermore, the more confidence all actors have in those decisions.

Food Sustainability and Sustainable food production are furthermore two sides of the same coin. In response to the growing demand for food in light of increasing populations globally, coupled with a significant focus from many stakeholders (general public, governments, and fishing and environmental associations) on sustainable production of these food products, the European fish extraction sector must do its part.

The technological innovations produced as results from the SMARTFISH H2020 project will furthermore significantly “greenify” the Blue Economy and contribute to the global Sustainable Development Goal nr 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. The goal acknowledges that fisheries contribute significantly to global food security, livelihoods and the economy – but that it also can damage fish habitats, reduce biodiversity, and impair functioning of ecosystems through overfishing. The implementation of the SMARTFISH H2020 systems will significantly contribute to the 14.4 target that states that by 2020, harvesting will be effectively regulated and IUU and overfishing will be ended and that destructive fishing practices will have ended by 2020.

Results from WP1–5  will assist commercial fishers in making informed decisions, both quicker and more accurately, at different steps during the fish extraction process including pre-catch, during catching, between catches and in post-catch situations. This will thereby improve their catch efficiencies so that catch compositions can match more closely the quota allocations held by fishing companies, which will lead to improved economic efficiency while in addition reducing unintended fish mortality, unnecessary fishing pressure and ecosystem damage.

The systems developed in SMARTFISH H2020 will also generate fuel savings, reducing emissions and operating costs. These can be categorised as 1) fuel saved from reduced mileage informed by pre-catch systems; 2) fuel saved from more effective sets informed by monitoring the catch process; 3) and fuel saved from more efficient use of engines powering equipment. The total fuel saving is estimated at 110 million litres of fuel, i.e. up to 5 % savings for the EU fleet, at full implementation, unlocking savings worth € 75 million on fuel.

We also expect that the SMARTFISH H2020 systems developed to automatically generate and analyse catch data (CatchScanner, CatchSnap and CatchMonitor) can have an impact that reduces labour costs by up to 50% relative to current systems.