FleetLink ocean (sea surface temperature and vertical temperature structure) and weather (wind speed and direction, humidity, air temperature, and air pressure) data are collected and autonomously telemetered from commercial fishing vessels to a shore-based data server and are accessible at (www.fleetlink.net). Proprietary fisheries catch data are collected, and can be distributed to the vessel's cooperative; the data may eventually be incorporated into an open-access catch database for each fishery and used for "real-time marketing" of the fish catch.
The 2002 funding from COOA was used to commercialize the FleetLink system, moving all responsibilities for continued software and hardware development and production into commercial partner, Clearwater Instruments, Inc. (Watertown, MA). Clearwater is near completion of the first project goal: production of deployable software (i.e., CD-based executables) and conversion of the data telemetry carrier to the new, less-expensive Iridium network. They are on-schedule for installation of three new systems during, 2003, and will ensure access to real-time data for 2003 - 2004. WHOI participants in FleetLink have assisted in the software development necessary for conversion to Iridium data transmission, and are serving FleetLink data from a server physically located at WHOI. The FleetLink data are formatted and served so as to be suitable for data integration by the COOA-funded WebCOAST effort, ensuring that all COOA data can be analyzed, interpreted, and visualized in multiple ways.
The 2003 funding from COOA supports the production and continuous operation of three additional FleetLink systems, bringing the total fleet up to nine vessels allowing the project to achieve genuine synopticity in the coverage of observations in coastal waters of the western Gulf of Maine.
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