A development of GIS plotter for small fishing vessels running on common Linux

In this paper, we propose a GIS plotter for small fishing vessels, with the objective of promoting effective coastal fishing and the sustainable use of aquatic resources in coastal fishing. Currently, various marine charts are created in support of coastal fishing operations. However, the charts are displayed on paper and cannot be used effectively on small fishing vessels. Therefore, we focus on GPS plotters that are currently the most widely used devices on small fishing vessels for navigation and for displaying bathymetric charts. We are developing a GIS plotter running on a common Linux system that can display various marine charts and automatically update marine chart data. First, we developed a GIS plotter that displays the vessel´s position, a three-dimensional bathymetric chart, an isobathic line chart, a submarine geology chart and an aquatic resources distribution chart. From experimental results, we confirmed that these charts could be drawn at 1 fps or more. Next, the plotter was used to monitor, from land, small fishing vessels in real time by using a cellular phone network. Furthermore, data on schools of fish could be transmitted from small fishing vessels to land over a wireless LAN. We expect that the GIS plotter will support not only the fishing industry through the use of these new marine charts but also the sustainable use of aquatic resources through monitoring of small fishing vessels.