Application of radio frequency identification tags for marking of fish gillnets and crab pots: Trials in the Norwegian Sea and the Barents Sea, Norway

Marking of fishing gear is an important step in reducing abandoned, lost, and discarded gear, thereby reducing the amount of plastic pollution in the sea. With the help of fishers in their daily work on the Norwegian coast, we have performed several trials using radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to mark crab pots and gillnets. The results show that RFID tags are well suited to mark individual crab pots without affecting the daily work of fishers, and there is no evidence that the tags affect the catch. However, the trials uncovered that the tags easily entangle in the fish gillnets, creating much hassle for the fishers. Also, the heavy stress on the tags while hauling the gillnets damaged several tags. Therefore, we can not recommend marking gillnets with RFID tags before more appropriate tags have been identified and tested.

Automated summary

Marking fishing gear with RFID tags has proven effective in marking individual crab pots without affecting the catch. However, the trials revealed that the tags easily become entangled in gillnets and are damaged under the stress of hauling the nets. Therefore, the use of RFID tags for marking gillnets is not recommended until more suitable alternatives have been identified and tested.