Million federal grant will fund fishing tech projects

A $15 million National Science Foundation grant, awarded in late July, will support technology projects aimed at improving commercial fishing. New England advocates, ocean researchers, and tech companies plan to develop a “third eye” camera system that lets captains see what’s entering nets before hauling, potentially reducing regulated bycatch and helping crews avoid quota problems. The funding will also back autonomous robots for lobstermen to detect underwater conditions that can lead to bringing up traps filled with dead lobsters, including areas of high temperature and low dissolved oxygen (“hypoxia”). The award will further examine ways to strengthen seafood processing.