Public invited to panel discussion on design and innovation in fisheries

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Join Working Waterfront Festival Director, Laura Orleans, fisheries scientist, Greg DeCelles and net designer, Tor Bendiksen to learn about recent efforts to develop gear to more accurately assess the groundfish resource.

The New Bedford Art Museum/Artworks! and the Working Waterfront Festival are collaborating to present a panel discussion Design and Innovation in Fisheries Science on Thursday, September 11 at 6:00 p.m. This program is an outgrowth of Synergy: Ocean Stories currently on exhibit at New Bedford Art Museum / ArtWorks! The show exhibits artwork of artists collaborating with marine biologists to create an artistic rendition of scientific research. Join Working Waterfront Festival Director, Laura Orleans, fisheries scientist, Greg DeCelles and net designer, Tor Bendiksen to learn about recent efforts to develop gear to more accurately assess the groundfish resource. The program takes place at the New Bedford Art Museum / ArtWorks!, 608 Pleasant Street and is free and open to the public.

Scientists at the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) have partnered with Reidars Manufacturing, Simrad, and local fishermen to design a trawl net that is equipped with advanced sensors and a video camera to identify fish as they pass through the net. The goal of the project is to gather high-resolution information on the distribution and abundance of important groundfish species, such as yellowtail flounder, cod, and haddock. Three survey trips have been completed to date, and the preliminary results have demonstrated that the new technology has the ability to gather tremendous amounts of information for stock assessment. SMAST is hopeful that the cooperative research project will help support an improved scientific basis for fisheries management.

Greg DeCelles Ph.D. is a Research Associate at the School for Marine Science and Technology. Greg works collaboratively with the local fishing fleet to investigate the abundance and distribution of commercially important fish species.

Tor Bendiksen is the shop manager and chief designer for Reidars Manufacturing, the business that his father started in 1988. Tor designs and builds innovative new fishing gear used on trawlers and scallopers. He has worked closely with fishermen and fisheries scientists to develop gear for a variety of cooperative research efforts.


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