This project has been developed in line with SETFIA's strategic aim to reduce some of trawling's environmental impacts.

A weakness within the current Association model is that when current fishing behaviours are improved to reduce environmental impacts, there is no guarantee that those changes will be enduring. The lack of consistency is highlighted in that the CTS operates two industry codes of practice on seal interactions and responsible fishing. Both are arguably in need of updating, however, there is no process control on compliance to these codes. Informal surveys have shown that although operators are aware of the existence of theses codes, and that they are often physically on the vessel, that through a combination of time and crew turnover crew are not able to recount the key elements of either code.

Increasingly, industry are undertaking self management arrangements that including voluntary area closures and split stock management (without formal quota areas). Although communications are sent to SETFIA members, the messages are not always passed from the vessel owners to the skippers. The industry needs a conduit though which to improve compliance to regulations and voluntary undertakings.

The fishing vessel can provide a wealth of information for fishers, researcher, managers and others interested in the marine environment. At the moment, however, the process of collecting and transmitting this information is extremely inefficient. Regardless of who uses the informaiton, it is usually written down on paper (often duplicated), posted off to the appropriate agency, deciphered, key-punched and validated. AFMA needs to be sent logbooks, skippers keep their own private fishing logbooks, biologists need to come on board to collect and key-punch simple information on catch composition and length frequencies, the process of transporting, marketing and selling the catch involves even more double-handling and more paperwork.

Many SETF fishing vessels have VMS, computers and a range of other electronic hardware (GPS, net monitors etc) which provide the electronic capacity necessary to revolutionise the way they collect, store and transmit this data. By integrating this hardware with the appropriate software, the full capacity of the onboard electronics can be realised. Date, time position, depth and water temperature can be automatically recorded at the start and end of each shot. Total catch composition (retained and discarded) can be entered directly by the skipper and e-mailed directly off to AFMA thereby meeting the SEF1 logbook requirements. Length frequency data can be recorded by one of the deckhands, entered into the computer and emailed off to the ISMP, thus providing realtime data on the fishery. The skipper can place the catch on an electronic marketing site where markets, wholesalers and retailers can purchase the fish, knowing exactly when they were caught and where and when they will be landed.

SETFIA has already reviewed the available software and decided that the OLRAC software has the greatest potential for their industry at this stage. Preliminary work has already been done to start applying this software to the SETF requirements. By installing and trialing the OLRAC software, which has been particularly designed to meet the needs of fishers, managers, researchers, retailers, SETFIA intends to set up one of their trawlers as an example of the potential for industry development in the age of electronic communication. As the "guinea pig", there will be a need for significant consultation between the vessel owners, software provider, and end users such as the vessel company, AFMA, research agencies, and electronic marketing companies. Funding to implement software and hardware to receive electronic logbook data is being provided by AFMA. Onboard computing and VMS hardware is being provided by SETFIA. This project seeks funding to implement and trial the onboard software chosen by SETFIA.