National Fisherman

March Spotlight:

Gear and Apparel

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Boats & Gear

In January 2025, Garmin acquired the SeaStar information service and added it to its ecosystem of hardware and software. The software provides numerous data layers intended to make commercial fishing operations more productive and efficient. Photo courtes

Garmin brings SeaStar information service into its ecosytem

Paul Molyneaux

The remains of the Dora F in a Brunswick, Ga., bone yard. After owning the boat for 55 years, Johnny Bennett said goodbye to the vessel he had raised his children and grandson on. Walker Owens photo.

The life and times of the Dora F and the Dora F II

Paul Molyneaux

Fishermen using the Fiobuoy gear must meet certain criteria and agree to a number of data gathering requirements. Photo courtesy of Fiomarine

Gear lending library helps Dungeness crabbers go ropeless

Paul Molyneaux

dgeTech’s on-demand buoy system—with the Golden Gate Bridge in the background—is now approved for use in areas otherwise closed to Dungeness crab fishing. The company has been making acoustic release mechanisms for forty years. Photo courtesy of Rob Morri

EdgeTech on demand buoys get California approval

Paul Molyneaux

A 2020 World Wildlife Fund publication named lost fishing gear, or "ghost gear," the "most harmful form of plastic debris to marine wildlife." NOAA photo.

'Smart Buoys' track ghost fishing gear

NF Staff

Starlink on a commercial fishing vessel. Photo courtesy of Carli Stewart

What fishermen are saying about connectivity offshore

Carli Stewart

Tom Rossiter, owner of CatchCam, hauls in a fish trap rigged with a CatchCam camera to study how freshwater fish like perch interact with the gear. Petri Suuronen, who organized the project, hopes to expand the lake fisheries in Finland. Photo courtesy of

CatchCam building small-scale fisheries

Paul Molyneaux

At only 12 inches in height, the FLIR camera can be easily mounted on top of a vessel’s wheelhouse or under an overhang, and enables fishermen to see people or objects in the water up to 5 miles away with the top-end model. Photo courtesy of Paul Molyneau

FLIR infrared cameras give fishermen eyes in the dark

Paul Molyneaux

Airmar’s new Medium Ultra-Wide transducers take higher resolution sonar down to 1300 feet and give fishermen a 73-degree view of what may be around their boat. “It’s a fishing tool,” says Airmar’s director of marketing, Craig Cushman. Photo courtesy of Ai

Airmar debuts Medium Ultra-Wide Chirp transducer

Paul Molyneaux

Part of its new Pro NX line of sensors, the Marport catch sensor comes in three versions, including the Catch Explorer and the higher resolution Catch Navigator. Both feature a quick-release mechanism for releasing the element. Photo courtesy of Marport

Marport Sensors get an upgrade

Paul Molyneaux

The Inuksuk II in Igaluit, Nunavit, Canada, for its official christening on July 29, 2025. The vessel had arrived in Newfoundland months earlier, but had to wait for the ice-out in the north before it could finally make it home. Photo by Tattuinee

Canada’s biggest boat starts fishing in the north

Paul Molyneaux