Scientists from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) and fishermen successfully deployed a new video survey system they believe can provide more accurate measurements of the Atlantic cod population, helping regulators manage the fishery, said university officials.

SMAST Professor Kevin Stokesbury and his research team – chief scientist and graduate student Travis Lowery and graduate student Nick Calabrese – designed the system so they could identify the species in every image. This allows researchers to approximate the abundance, density, size distribution, and the impacts of commercial fishing, said university officials.

“Our goal is to provide all stakeholders in this issue with trustworthy science that reduces uncertainty for the Gulf of Maine cod fishery,” Stokesbury said via press release.

For more information, visit umassd.edu/news/2017/codvideosurvey.html.