Today, the National Professional Fishing League (NPFL) announced it will prohibit the use of real-time imaging units—commonly referred to as “live forward-facing sonar”—during official practice and competition starting with the 2025 season. Other sonar (e.g., 2D, side imaging, 360, et al.) will continue to be permitted.
"Our sport is too important and too diverse to allow technology to shrink it to a handful of methods and tackle. Robust competition requires variety, experience, and broad skills. It must be more than an expensive video game." They said in a statement.
"We considered intermediate measures that fell short of a complete restriction but believe they would be insufficient to protect the sport. Limiting transducers or screens or only allowing the technology on certain days or hours are half measures that may quiet some opponents of the technology, but they are unlikely to reduce its impact.
Our decision was neither easy nor made quickly. It is ultimately a business decision made after much due diligence and unclouded by conflicting business relationships."
Read the full statement here: https://thenationalprofessionalfishingleague.com/2024/09/02/breaking-news-the-future-of-forward-facing-sonar-in-the-npfl/