ST. JOHN’S, NL — A renowned whale expert says last month’s deployment of ropeless fishing gear off Newfoundland was symbolic for him. Michael Moore, biologist in the United States
ST. JOHN’S, NL — A renowned whale expert says last month’s deployment of ropeless fishing gear off Newfoundland was symbolic for him.
Michael Moore, a biologist at the US-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, said in an interview that he first discussed ropeless fishing 43 years ago in Newfoundland with the late biologist Jon Link.
Lien is known for founding the Newfoundland and Labrador Whale Release and Strandings group and releasing hundreds of whales tangled in fishing ropes.
In July, tech company Jasco Applied Sciences partnered with the Miawpukek First Nation in Newfoundland to test the company’s ropeless traps, which anglers can retrieve from the water using buoys. rather than ropes and buoys.
John Moloney, the company’s engineering manager, explains that the traps are fitted with inflatable bladders that anglers can trigger when it’s time to bring them to the surface.
Moore says that although ropeless gear technology is still in its infancy, he is heartened to see it being used off Newfoundland, where he began to dream of its potential to save whales and serve fisherman.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on August 2, 2022.
The Canadian Press