Developing a way for fishers and whales to co-exist
Where we are today
We are in the middle of a NOAA grant where we are working on device development alongside fishers. By the end of this grant, our system will be tested by near shore fishers in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine.
The LobsterLift team is currently integrating multiple acoustics communications systems, and building units for testing with lobstermen. In the photo above, Ted is getting ready to toss the LobsterLift overboard to pressure test the housing at 182ft depth, our deepest test yet! This is all made possible by the NOAA Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program grant.
In April, we welcomed aboard new team member, Will Carome, to help with building and testing LobsterLift systems alongside lobstermen. We began our 2022 testing season in Bar Harbor, Maine where we were successful in testing the LobsterLift with integrated acoustics out to 152 ft and look forward to pushing the system further this spring and into the summer!
A brief history
It all started at a prototyping competition in Malaysia hosted by Conservation X Labs. From there, it's continued to be developed into a system tested in the ocean environment by fishers.
" ...a team of conservation-minded engineers set about finding a solution for the problem of right whale entanglements—while also keeping in mind the needs of lobster fishing families. The winners of last year’s Make for the Planet Borneo hackathon at the 5th annual International Marine Conservation Congress came up with a device they dubbed LobsterLift."
