A fish catching device includes a modular frame member having a buoyant device secured to a first side of the frame member and the second side of the frame member is capable of being secured to a watercraft. The frame member incorporates a plurality of apertures. A plurality of one-way doors is provided, each hingedly secured to the frame and cover an individual aperture. The device is configured to rest above a surface of water permitting a fish to jump through any of the doors thereby causing the fish to slow its trajectory and direct it to enter the watercraft.

A fish catching device includes a modular frame member having a buoyant device secured to a first side of the frame member and the second side of the frame member is capable of being secured to a watercraft. The frame member incorporates a plurality of apertures. A plurality of one-way doors is provided, each hingedly secured to the frame and cover an individual aperture. The device is configured to rest above a surface of water permitting a fish to jump through any of the doors thereby causing the fish to slow its trajectory and direct it to enter the watercraft.

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for ropeless fishing. The ropeless fishing system includes a surface subsystem installed on a vessel and at least one submerged subsystem submerged in a body of water. The surface subsystem includes acoustic transceiver and acoustic transducer units, which are configured to generate and omnidirectionally transmit an acoustic interrogation signal into the body of water surrounding the vessel and to directionally receive acoustic reply signals. The submerged subsystems include a compressed gas source and an enclosed flotation bag in fluid communication and an underwater acoustic actuator-transponder unit configured to receive the acoustic interrogation signal transmitted by the surface subsystem and to transmit an acoustic reply signal into the body of water. In addition, the submerged subsystem is further configured to control the flow of gas between the compressed gas source and the enclosed floatation bag to facilitate recovery of the submerged subsystem.

Ocean-based gear equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) shares position to either single or multiple users. Position data from an ocean-based device are sent either to a cloud-hosted database or vessel transceiver, then displayed on either a mobile app via multiple login accounts, a vessel-mounted GPS plotter that is capable of sharing data over the internet, or a satellite-connected mobile device capable of receiving and displaying Short Message Service (SMS) messages or emails. The Vessel Transceiver device is designed to share data from gear to vessel via radio frequency, as well as vessel to vessel via satellite network, without internet connectivity. Position data are provided to either one user or multiple users on the ocean or on land via various communication arrangements.

A crustacean trap adapted to permit blocking entry to a crustacean of a protected species, including a cage, enclosing a volume and a crustacean entrance that can be closed to prevent entry, responsive to a first signal and opened to permit crustacean entry, responsive to a second signal received at the trap. Also, an image forming assembly includes a digital camera and a flash mechanism, the assembly being directed at an area immediately outside of the entrance and being tuned to return a maximum signal from crustaceans of the protected crustacean species so that a protected species crustacean appears as brightly lit in images formed, and being communicatively connected to a remote station that is equipped to receive-images from the assembly. Finally, there is a connector for connecting the cage to a signal source for receiving the first and second signals and for sending the images formed.

A crustacean trap adapted to permit blocking entry to a crustacean of a protected species, including a cage, enclosing a volume and a crustacean entrance that can be closed to prevent entry, responsive to a first signal and opened to permit crustacean entry, responsive to a second signal received at the trap. Also, an image forming assembly includes a digital camera and a flash mechanism, the assembly being directed at an area immediately outside of the entrance and being tuned to return a maximum signal from crustaceans of the protected crustacean species so that a protected species crustacean appears as brightly lit in images formed, and being communicatively connected to a remote station that is equipped to receive-images from the assembly. Finally, there is a connector for connecting the cage to a signal source for receiving the first and second signals and for sending the images formed.

A water pressure-activated end line severing device is configured to be attached to a lobster, crab or snow crab trawl end line and to automatically sever the end line if a large marine animal has snagged, bitten, seized, caught, become entangled with, or otherwise somehow attached itself to that end line. When any large marine animal, such as a whale, snags or becomes entangled in the end line, the normal, instinctive response of the large marine animal is to dive rapidly to a greater depth, which pulls the end line and the device attached to the end line to a greater depth in the water column. As the device descends to a greater depth in the water column, the water pressure exerted against the device rapidly increases. When the water pressure reaches and exceeds a predefined water pressure threshold, a trigger assembly on the device activates a spring-loaded cutter assembly, which forces movement of a cutting blade to sever the part of the end line that passes through an aperture in the device, thereby freeing the large marine animal from the end line and the weight of the lobster or crab trawl.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for attracting and monitoring marine life by capturing images on and around the seafloor surrounding a device of the system. The system can quantitatively measure the effectiveness of attracting and culling marine life such as but not limited to sea urchins. The attracting and the culling features can be used independently.

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a system for attracting and monitoring marine life by capturing images on and around the seafloor surrounding a device of the system. The system can quantitatively measure the effectiveness of attracting and culling marine life such as but not limited to sea urchins. The attracting and the culling features can be used independently.

Time release bait containers can include an inner body and an outer body which can slidably engage one another and can be coupled in a sealed state by a time release coupling. The time release coupling can release after a period of time, after which the inner body can be deployed outward from the outer body by an actuator.