Dossier VISTools: better fisheries data for smarter and more sustainable management

VISTools helps improve fisheries management by collecting high-resolution data directly from fishing vessels. By combining sensors, real-time monitoring and collaboration with fishers, the project supports more accurate science, better policy decisions and a more sustainable future for fisheries.

What does ILVO do?

ILVO develops systems that collect more detailed and reliable data directly from fishing vessels.
ILVO integrates sensors such as GPS, fuel use, winch force and catch weight into one onboard system.
ILVO is testing camera and AI tools, as well as eDNA integration, to improve catch registration and species recognition on deck.
ILVO uses vessel data to support broader ecosystem-based fisheries management and digital twin development.
ILVO works with fishers in practice, testing and improving the system together at sea.

Why VISTools matters

Fisheries management depends on high quality data. But today, much of that data is still too limited, too slow and too incomplete to reflect what is really happening at sea. Catch records are often entered manually. Vessel positions do not always reflect what is happening during a trip. And independent, scientific observation covers only a small part of actual fishing activity. As a result, science and policy often have to work with an incomplete picture.

That matters even more at a time when marine ecosystems are under pressure from shifting weather patterns and the impacts of climate change. Waters are warming and fish species are shifting. As a result, fisheries are under pressure from many angles: environmentally, economically and socially. In this context, management needs better information and faster feedback.

From low-resolution data to real-world insight

VISTools was developed to close that gap. The project equips fishing vessels with a compact on-board system that brings together data from different instruments, including GPS, fuel consumption, catch weight and gear-related measurements. This creates a much more detailed view of what happens during a fishing trip, haul by haul and trip by trip.

That improves the quality of information available to both fishers and scientists:

Fishers can better understand patterns in catch, effort and fuel use.
Scientists get a more accurate basis for assessing fishing activity, ecosystem pressure and stock dynamics.
Managers can make informed decisions, based on a real-time view of the fishery and ecosystem.

Built with fishers, not just for fishers

A key strength of VISTools is that it is not only a technical innovation but also a social one. The project grew through direct collaboration between researchers and fishers, starting from practical needs and shared interest rather than top-down control. That cooperation helped build trust and made it possible to test the system in a living lab, under real working conditions.

This matters because better fisheries management does not only depend on better tools. It also depends on stronger links between science, practice and policy. VISTools shows what can happen when those groups work together instead of against each other.

A basis for smarter policy

The value of VISTools goes beyond data collection alone. Better and more timely data can strengthen scientific advice and support more responsive fisheries policy. Instead of relying only on delayed and partial information, decision-makers can work with a clearer picture of fishing activity, species distribution and pressures at sea.

The project also connects to a wider ambition. By combining vessel data with broader environmental and European data systems, VISTools contributes to the development of a digital twin of the fishing vessel, the fishery and eventually part of the ocean system itself. That creates new possibilities for ecosystem-based management, predictive models and more practical sustainability decisions.

What comes next

VISTools already shows that better fisheries data can be collected in practice, in partnership with the sector. The next step is to keep developing that system and expand what it can support, including AI-based catch recognition, further environmental integration and policy applications through pilot use.

At its core, VISTools is about one simple idea: if we want better fisheries management, we need better data from the real world. And if we want that data to matter, it has to be useful for fishers, scientists and policymakers alike.