Marine Instruments designs and manufactures buoys that are designed to allow tracking assets in the ocean allowing for in increases in operational efficiency, and prevention of loss of fishing gear. Lost fishing gear is costly and may cause navigational safety risks; material washed overboard or lost in the water may add to pollution and could be tagged for later recovery.
HF radio-based models have no associated fees but limited range; satellite communication buoys have no range limit and operate anywhere on the globe, but there are recurring communication fees. Buoys can have temperatures sensors or echo sounders in the case of the satellite buoys.
Some examples are:
- Longline or crab pot fishing gear.
- Tuna drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (FAD’s).
- Ghost Nets – to recover free-drifting net and lost fishing gear .
- Anchored FADs for commercial fishing.
- Recreational Artificial Reefs.
- Tagging drifting garbage patches.
- Anchored or Free-drifting sounder buoys on FADs.
- Shark tagging with drum lines for swimmer safety.
- Tagging whale cadavers for recovery and autopsy.