KINGSTON, R.I. – August 4, 2020 – When the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management offered an opportunity for fishermen to sell their catch direct to consumers as a means of supporting the commercial fishing industry during the pandemic, fishermen were pleased with the opportunity but struggled to connect with consumers seeking to buy seafood.

Now a new smartphone application is available to bridge the gap between the fishermen and potential customers, thanks to a partnership between the University of Rhode Island Fisheries Center, Rhode Island Sea Grant, Eating with the Ecosystem, the Commercial Fisheries Research Center, and the Rhode Island Seafood Marketing Collaborative.

The FishLine app, developed in California and adapted for use in Rhode Island, is a central marketplace for seafood being sold by local fishermen to consumers in the area. It allows fishermen to post what species they caught each day, their prices, and their sales location and hours. It also provides recipes and information about each species and how they are caught, as well as stories and photos from the fishermen.

“When the pandemic struck and restaurants closed, the market for local seafood tanked,” said Mitch Hatzipetro, a URI fisheries scientist who led the app project with Kate Masury of Eating with the Ecosystem. “When DEM offered the pilot project that allowed for dockside sales, some of the fishermen were leery of the idea because they weren’t sure how to reach potential customers. The app can help them do that.”

In the first two weeks of the app’s availability, more than a dozen fishermen were using it to market their catch, and more than 500 consumers had downloaded the app. Hatzipetro is working with fishermen to teach them how to use the app and collaborating with the project’s partners to spread the word to consumers.

Since the Rhode Island Department of Health requires that fishermen sell their catch within 24-hours of catching it, buyers can be assured their product is fresh.

FishLine was originally created in 2012 by Phondini Partners, an app developer in Half Moon Bay, California, for use in that state’s salmon fishery. It was adapted for use with Rhode Island’s fisheries this summer with funding from Rhode Island Sea Grant. It can be downloaded from the Apple or Google app stores.