Award

Climate change impacts on Alaskan waters have created challenges for both fisheries ecosystems as well as the operational safety of mariners in the region, necessitating more accurate weather and ocean condition forecasts. Blue Ocean Gear will demonstrate the application of innovative Smart Buoy devices on fishing gear to capture and transmit data on sea surface temperature and other key ocean conditions in the Bering Sea. The use of fishing gear-based sensors will provide regional meteorologists with more localized data points than currently available, regardless of weather conditions, improving forecast accuracy using fishing gear in exactly the areas where the information is needed most. Blue Ocean Gear’s Smart Buoy is equipped with GPS tracking and other ocean condition sensors and transmits data to a cloud-based database, capable of conveying that information to either a mobile or desktop app. The integrated system is affordable, reliable, and compatible with any fixed-gear configuration. This includes traps, nets, longlines, and aquaculture arrays, all of which are utilized in open Alaskan waters across an area of over 500,000 square miles. This proposal will develop and evaluate a more ruggedized design with increased depth and impact performance as well as the addition of key ocean condition sensors.