PORTLAND — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has awarded $127,649 to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, according to U.S. Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins.

NOAA said the money will be used to assess a new technology to record what’s scooped up by mid-water trawl fishery, opening the door to a method to better manage the herring population.

The grant will allow the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to test the effectiveness of a camera system placed inside a fishing trawl to quantify and record the so-called “bycatch.”

Snowe and Collins said it’s critical at a time of record low lobster prices to develop long-term solutions “to ensure a vibrant lobster industry for years to come.”