eMOLT_wiki

Documentation for the eMOLT Program

This GitHub repository holds documentation for the environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps (eMOLT) Program. eMOLT is a collaborative effort between NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the Gulf of Maine Lobster Foundation, the commercial fishing fleets of the Northeastern United States, and many regional entities including fishing organizations, tech companies, universities, and non-profits. More than 100 fishing vessels in New England are involved in the program. They attach low-cost oceanographic sensors to their gear to collect bottom water temperatures, temperature profiles, and dissolved oxygen data from their fishing grounds. These data are transmitted in near-real time to the vessel and numerical oceanographic models. They’re also shared with data visualization and access platforms, such as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Associations of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems which helps us make the data accessible to more scientists and mariners who can put it to use. By contributing near real-time data to ocean modelers, eMOLT participants provide an important service to the regional scientific community. They also improve their own understanding of their fishing grounds. The collection of eMOLT program information is authorized under the OMB Control Number included in the Citizen Science & Crowdsourcing Information Collection page.