The Lithuanian Fisheries Service is deploying information technology to monitor fi sheries

Artifi cial intelligence, business intelligence systems, and blockchain

The Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture has, among its responsibilities, the monitoring, inspection, and control of the entire Lithuanian fi shing fl eet. Technology is playing an ever bigger role in carrying out these tasks.

Abiding by requirements to trace fi sh from net to plate calls for electronic solutions to ensure simplicity, reliability, and cost eff ectiveness. Th e Lithuanian fl eet operates in too many distant parts of the world for inspectors to regularly check vessels in person, so we must rely on technology, says Tomas Kazlauskas, Director of the Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture, who is spearheading the widespread implementation of IT in the sector.

Calculating risk on the basis of data

While the EU has determined that countries should use electronic logbooks, sales notes, and traceability systems, there is now also a requirement to use electronic inspection reports. Th e data from these reports is stored in a database and as the volume of this information increases it becomes possible to use it to objectively analyse the risk of infringement by vessels with statistical tools as current expert analysis could be subjective and is not the most effi cient. While this is particularly important for the high seas fl eet, where physical inspections are not cost eff ective to carry out, it is also used for the open Baltic Sea vessels. Mr Kazlauskas is also paying more attention to the coastal fl eet, where vessels are more numerous, and infringements easier to carry out. In a bid to improve tracking of coastal vessels, the Fisheries Service has also developed an app that can be installed on a mobile telephone to record the vessel’s location and to function as an electronic logbook i.e. to record catches. More effi cient than sending inspectors to patrol the shore and more convenient than a VMS device, which calls for space and a relatively protected environment on board a vessel, the app is currently being tested and will soon be available on the Play Store. Th e next phase of development will add data on the fi shing gear used and its position in the water to control fi shing gear placement and position restrictions. Of course, critical for the success of the app is for fi shers to download and use it. Th e Fisheries Service off ers soft incentives, such as publishing a list of fi shers who use the app and hopes that fi shers will be further encouraged if they can see it is easier to use than the traditional paper logbook. Coastal fi shers are also aware that the current proposal that could potentially ban the coastal fi shery may be more diffi cult to adopt, if they can prove that they are subjecting themselves to more stringent control.

Preventing data from being compromised

Th e use of electronic tools does not stop there. Mr Kazlauskas would like to create a blockchain encryption based “sandbox” area, a virtual container on the fi shermen’s own phones or computers on which the app is installed. Th is is a controlled area where, when software is installed or removed, it is recorded and tracked. Th is ensures the integrity of the data as it makes hacking the app very diffi cult. Initially, the sandbox will be created on laptops used on the high sea vessels in conjunction with the electronic logbooks. If it works well, it will be installed on the machines (phones or computers) used by fi shers on other fl eets.

Tomas Kazlauskas, Director of the Fisheries Service under the Ministry of Agriculture

Electronic tools are increasing being used to control fi sheries as they are more effi cient and cost effective.