The objective of this project is to expand the use of reliable, cost-effective, on-demand fishing gear to deep-water fisheries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded Sub Sea Sonics, LLC a Cooperative Agreement on June 1, 2026, totaling $228,581 to develop and test an advanced deep-water acoustic release system for ropeless fishing traps. The award funds research under the Cooperative Research Program (CFDA 11.472), which partners the fishing industry and fishermen with federal and university scientists to collect fundamental fisheries information supporting assessment models.

Sub Sea Sonics will refine its prototype Deep-water Acoustic Release for Ropeless Traps (DAR4RT) system by increasing pressure rating, maximum release load, and acoustic range while integrating components into a single underwater housing. The work includes exploration of line-handling configurations designed to minimize tangling, facilitate re-packing, and maximize line storage capacity for deep-water conditions. Testing proceeds in three phases: bench and shallow-water component evaluation of subsystems; deep-water non-fishing evaluation under realistic pressure and depth conditions; and field testing with a minimum of 25 gear sets in at least two different deep-water fisheries operating at depths of 80 fathoms or greater, with full documentation of conditions and gear performance.

Performance of work takes place in San Diego, California. The period of performance runs from June 1, 2026, through May 31, 2027. The obligated amount is $228,581.

Under previous support from brep, saltonstall-kennedy and woods hole oceanographic institution, the applicants successfully developed and demonstrated at large scale a new acoustic release for ropeless traps (AR4RT) system (including guardian line handling system) and developed a prototype deep-water release unit (the DAR4RT) that was subsequently tested in the american lobster fishery by the northeast fisheries science center. The first phase of this study would focus on refining the DAR4RT to increase the pressure rating, the maximum release load and acoustic range while integrating the system into a single underwater housing. With this approach, the project would essentially be scaling sub sea sonics existing systems to work in deeper water. Next, the researchers would explore line handling configurations to establish approaches that can work reliably under deepwater conditions. In particular, they would focus on systems that minimize the potential for tangling, allow for easy RE-packing, and offer a high capacity for line storage. Testing would proceed in three phases, starting with bench and shallow water component-based evaluation of the sub-systems. The second phase of testing would focus on evaluating the gear in deep water under non-fishing conditions. The focus of this testing would be to determine the performance of the systems under realistic conditions of pressure and depth but without fishing equipment attached. In the third phase of field testing, a small number of units would be provided to testers in at least two different deep-water fisheries with the criteria that the gear be used at a minimum depth of 80 fathoms. The goal of the phase 3 testing would be to achieve at least 25 gear sets in each fishery while fully documenting the conditions and performance of the gear. Members of the technical team would participate in at least the first 1-2 weeks (and at least 10 successful gear sets) of this testing, followed by a period where the fishers are using the gear without oversight. Based on feedback, researchers would evaluate the performance of the gear.