Yes, longlines can be tracked. Here's how: Buoy-based GPS Systems: Modern longline fishing operations often attach GPS-enabled buoys to their lines. These buoys transmit location data in real-time, allowing fishing vessels to track the position of their longlines. Satellite Monitoring: Some GPS systems on buoys are equipped to send their data to satellites. The fishing vessel or even onshore operations can then monitor the longlines' locations from a centralized system. Radio Frequency Identification (RFID): Some operations use RFID tags, which can help in short-range tracking and identification of equipment. Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS): While primarily used to track fishing vessels' positions for regulatory and safety reasons, VMS can also provide indirect tracking of longlines when combined with other data like timestamps of deployment and retrieval. Acoustic Tags: These are less common but can be used in research or specific situations. Acoustic tags emit sound signals that are detected by underwater receivers, allowing for the tracking of longline movements in a defined area.