Day Boat Seafood and Caicos Pride Seafood have been granted a Scientific Research Permit by the Dept. of Environmental and Maritime Affairs (DEMA), Ministry of Environment of the Turks and Caicos Islands, to conduct a feasibility study of the establishment of a sustainable commercial pelagic longline and hand gear fishery in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

The two year study will assess the stock characteristics and commercial viability of pelagic fisheries in the TCI EEZ (Turks and Caicos Islands Exclusive Economic Zone) by providing detailed catch statistics to determine the MSY(maximum sustained yield) and the TAC(total allowable catch) for each of the targeted species.

Two Day Boat Seafood longline vessels and their crews, MV Day Boat One and MV Day Boat Too, will begin the study in mid-September 2013. Turks and Caicos citizens, “belongers”, will be trained in the skills and technologies of the sustainable commercial pelagic longline and hand gear fishery as utilized by Day Boat Seafood, the first US fishery to be certified sustainable for pelagic longline fishing by the MSC.

Belongers and DEMA Scientific Research Assistants are mandatory on all vessels at all times, and the vessels will be tracked in real time via Osprey tracker devices. Extensive catch data will be presented during and after each trip, allowing DEMA researchers to assess the fishery on an ongoing basis.

All methods of fishing, species and regulations governing catch will be subject to US HMS regulations and all international agreements (ICCAT, CITES).