Mr Sihle Victor Ngcongo, the founder of Imvelo Blue Environment, has created a device called Imvelo BSL device, which monitors the compliance of the two out of three international best practice measures for the prevention of seabird entanglement and mortalities on longline vessels and trawlers. This electronic monitoring device is attached to the BSL on a fishing vessels and continuously collects tension over time data during the fishing voyage. 

For many years the use of BSLs and night setting have been  part of the recommended best practices for the protection of seabirds. While the BSLs can be onboard and available during port inspection, this does not guarantee BSLs are actually being deployed when there are no observers on board during the fishing voyage. In recent years, there has also been an increasing number of reports from other sea users, indicating that some vessels are not deploying BSLs. The Imvelo BSL device can eliminate doubts on whether the BSLs are indeed deployed at sea in acccordance with best practices.

Dr Nelson Miranda of Argonaut Science, has assisted Mr Ngcongo with the technical development and independent scientific validation of the device. The Imvelo BSL device is a tool to ensure that fishing companies, who are committed to the conservation of marine ecosystems, are able to determine whether the BSLs are actually being deployed on their fishing vessels in compliance with the best international practices.

With many years of experience as a fisheries observer, Mr Ngcongo understands the challenges faced by other scientific observers in collecting compliance data. The data collected by the device can be measured against official fishing logbook data and pinpoint sets where the BSL was deployed or not. This will also release some pressure off the observers and allow them to focus on other tasks while relying on the device to ensure that the vessel is compliant.