Fishing has always involved ingenuity and invention, from the Pacific Islanders’ ancient tailoring of bones and shells into fish hooks (long before metal arrived in their cultures) to modern uses of everything from rotational sensors to machine learning to digitally understand where, when and how fishing takes place. Innovation typically takes place “in-house”, i.e. led by the fishing industry itself, with an increasing movement of start-ups, NGOs and entrepreneurs – motivated primarily by tackling the environmental and social challenges of seafood production – now joining this challenge. We have created a new “Sustainable Fishing Challenges” group on WILDLABS to try foster more of this innovation and collaboratively make fishing fit for the future.
At a very basic level, the three essential elements of fishing are 1. The vessel, 2. The fishing equipment (or “gear”), and 3. The fish (obviously). While some commonplace technologies are unrecognisable from those of the past (i.e. sonar fish finders, digital catch logbooks), some of the crucial components of the job have altered little (i.e. net design). Newly proposed vessel, gear or fish catch monitoring technologies must be robust, efficient and durable, meaning innovation needs to be answering a genuine need and be subject to thorough, collaborative testing (and consensus-building) before new advances are adopted across whole fleets or countries.
In this group, we challenge users to contribute their insights/expertise/opportunities across each of these three areas.
Learn more about these challenge areas:
Group curators
Fauna & Flora
Fisheries and Biodiversity Techical Specialist - lead FFI's insititutional fisheries strategy
- 0 Resources
- 14 Discussions
- 3 Groups
- 0 Resources
- 7 Discussions
- 18 Groups
Applied ML for Sustainable Fisheries, Co-Founder of OnDeck Fisheries AI
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 4 Groups
TechnoSmArt
I am an ornithologist, have been working with GPS tracking of both seabirds and terrestrial birds. I have been involved also in conservation projects in Italy, Chile and Ecuador
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 5 Groups
Freaklabs
I'm an engineer and product designer working on wildlife conservation technology.
- 0 Resources
- 265 Discussions
- 13 Groups
- @StephODonnell
- | She / Her
WILDLABS
I'm the Community Manager at WILDLABS
- 142 Resources
- 622 Discussions
- 30 Groups
Drone Operator and Tech Developer
- 0 Resources
- 33 Discussions
- 9 Groups
- @kimgavin
- | she/her
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 9 Groups
- @carlybatist
- | she/her
Science Outreach Lead-Rainforest Connection (RFCx) & Arbimon
Ecoacoustics, biodiversity monitoring, primates, lemurs
- 67 Resources
- 251 Discussions
- 18 Groups
- @EllieW
- | She/Her
WILDLABS Associate Specialist based in Southern California
- 64 Resources
- 124 Discussions
- 14 Groups
- @Agnethe
- | She/her
PhD researcher at Cardiff University looking at computer vision in disease ecology
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 8 Groups
- @willgertler
- | he/him/his
Co-Founder & CEO, Kumbatia Seafood. Passionate about small-scale fisheries, regenerative ingredient sourcing, and sustainable coastal development.
- 0 Resources
- 0 Discussions
- 3 Groups
Allen Institute for AI
Communications for EarthRanger and Skylight
- 6 Resources
- 3 Discussions
- 9 Groups
Careers
The Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands (CDF) is recruiting a Senior Spatial Ecologist to join our shark research team and strengthen the ongoing long-term research on shark population ecology and...
24 August 2023
Careers
With a focus on using and combining vessel tracking data, other satellite derived datasets and big data methods and AI generated estimates related to vessel identity and activity, the Fisheries Analyist with Global...
15 June 2023
In this Conservation Tech Showcase case study from Ashored Innovations, we’ll learn how conservation technology is transforming fishing techniques to safeguard marine wildlife.
1 June 2023
This Data4Good project has led to immediate conservation impacts for many islands and many different resources. We hope that this project will inspire others to use data science and technology to solve the conservation...
17 May 2023
Global Fishing Watch are looking for a data scientist to join the Research and Innovation team. Help us tackle geospatial data fusion problems to produce the most complete picture of human activity at sea.
19 April 2023
Careers
We create Precision Fishing technology to help commercial fishermen catch their target species more consistently & sustainably.
5 April 2023
Check out this round-up of three of the latest news stories from the conservation tech world. See more conservation tech news by subscribing to our bi-monthly digest.
10 March 2022
Our first WILDLABS Editorial Series is now available for download! Read the full Technical Difficulties collection and explore stories of challenges, failures, and lessons learned from the conservation tech community....
19 January 2022
The Centre for Statistics in Ecology, Environment and Conservation, a research group within the Department of Statistical Sciences at the University of Cape Town, is now hiring for a funded postdoc or PhD postion with...
1 November 2021
In her article for the Technical Failures Editorial Series, WILDLABS' Ellie Warren discusses how the loss of one tagged sea turtle represents the wider challenges faced by conservation efforts, and how the collaborative...
8 October 2021
Our friends at the Conservation Leadership Programme are proud to announce their 2021 CLP Team Award recipients! We'll be featuring interviews with some CLP winners about their projects, the technology they're using,...
17 May 2021
How can remotely monitoring fishing vessels allow us to prevent illegal and unsustainable fishing practices? Check out this blog post from Max Schofield, originally shared on OceanMind, to learn about how AIS (Automated...
2 February 2021
November 2023
event
Description | Activity | Replies | Groups | Updated |
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Hi Sol,I think your concern is well placed. The pros typically tow an array of hydrophones, in its simpler configuration it looks like a long fat rubber hose containing... |
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Acoustics, AI for Conservation, Marine Conservation, Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 1 week 4 days ago | |
Hey Evelyn, I work on building self-powered buoys that collect various sensor data (sea surface and sub-surface) that can be sent back to mainland over cellular/satellite... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 1 year 6 months ago | |
I’m an editor at FoodUnfolded – an EU-funded platform focused on reconnecting people with their food and where it comes from,... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 5 months ago | |
Hi all, Just some things I've come across on Twitter or through Wildlabs that weren't in a thread yet, for everyone's... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 7 months ago | |
Hi all! I am not in the marine/aquatic space myself, but I stumbled across this resource and wanted to share with you. It's a list... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 7 months ago | |
Hi Karima - Are you looking for volunteers in specific regions or fisheries? |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 9 months ago | |
Happy new year all! A couple of great resources on the use of technology in the small-scale fisheries sector. Firstly a series of... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 10 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers, Following our recent Tech Tutors episode on monitoring fishing (check it out here! and ask Max... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 11 months ago | |
Hi Wildlabbers, Welcome back to Tech Tutors for season 2! This season's first episode featured Oceanmind's... |
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Marine Conservation, Remote Sensing & GIS, Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 11 months ago | |
Dan, I'm tempted to add that description into our event reminder that's about to go out. Brilliant. |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 2 years 11 months ago | |
The fantastic team of fishing innovators and industry leaders at Fisheries Innovation Scotland (FIS) are calling for expressions of... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 3 years ago | |
Hello, I'm the Science Comms Manager at the MSC. I want to let you all know about our Ocean Stewardship Fund which opened for... |
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Sustainable Fishing Challenges | 3 years 1 month ago |
Hydromoth for coastal & offshore surveying
16 November 2023 7:36am
Senior Spatial Ecologist

24 August 2023 11:22pm
Using an AI-based Warning System to Protect Whales in South Africa
28 July 2023 11:01am
Working with WWF, Vodacom is using cutting-edge artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) technology and infrared cameras to help minimise whale entanglements in mussel farming ropes off the southwest coast of South Africa in Saldanha Bay.
CCI Defining Destructive Fishing Project: Update - YouTube
19 June 2023 4:26pm
"This seminar detailed our achievements to date in building an expert-led and consensus-based definition of “destructive fishing” and our subsequent development of a monitoring framework, for adaptation to national and local contexts. We thank our attendees for their time and insightful questions." - Jack Murphy
The Wildlife Society Conference
19 June 2023 5:59am
Fisheries Analyst (Pacific)

15 June 2023 12:15pm
Ashored Innovations: Hardware and Software for Sustainable Fishing

1 June 2023 9:46pm
Data Visualization in Service of Coral Reefs in Micronesia
17 May 2023 8:53pm
Data Scientist (Geospatial), Global Fishing Watch

19 April 2023 10:34am
Office & Warehouse Exec
5 April 2023 6:22pm
How do I get started with mobile phones in sea turtle monitoring?
13 February 2023 10:01am
Global Fishing Watch's Marine Manager Raises the Bar on Ocean Monitoring
13 January 2023 12:09am
An online portal to help governments, researchers, conservation advocates & others monitor activity throughout the world’s marine environment, as well as design & implement protected areas. The Marine Manager is now open to anyone. Marine Manager provides users with a trove of human activity and environmental insights.
Crowdfunding Aerial Baseline Study of Ghost Gear in Koh Phangan, Thailand
18 December 2022 11:06am
We are developing a project in Thailand, using drones to locate lost & discarded fishing gear across Koh Phangan, Thailand.
We're 86% there & only need $1500 to get us over the line. If you can help us, we would really appreciate it!
This project uses drones to create a baseline survey of lost fishing gear & document effects of entanglement on marine species.
We are working with Core Sea & Koh Phangan Sea Guardians to develop a locally led method for ongoing monitoring for discarded fishing gear, using drones.
Thank you, Sol, Tania & Kat
Sea turtle monitoring
11 February 2021 11:44am
13 December 2021 6:19pm
Hi Evelyn
Not sure if you've come across this paper about green turtles in Turks and Caicos
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00690/full
18 March 2022 11:53pm
Hi Evelyn,
I learned of the torsooi database to collect sea turtle data. The database per se may not be that interesting as an asnwer to your question but I know they have developed software that recognizes individual sea turtles based on pictures of their heads. The pattern of the head segments allows this.
If you manage to make pictures remotely, by land-based cameras or drones or whatever, this may help monitoring the individuals.
In my humble and non-expert opinion, this software has the potential to do away with metal tags.
cheers
Frank
18 May 2022 6:03am
Hey Evelyn,
I work on building self-powered buoys that collect various sensor data (sea surface and sub-surface) that can be sent back to mainland over cellular/satellite comms. Are these nesting sites close to shore or are they relatively far out at sea?
Best,
Aadu
News: The Latest in Conservation Tech

10 March 2022 12:00am
Download Now: The Technical Difficulties Editorial Series

19 January 2022 12:00am
Opportunity: PhD or Postdoctoral Research Fellowships - Chinstrap penguin biologging

1 November 2021 12:00am
Technical Difficulties: Tracking Thunderbird

8 October 2021 12:00am
Innovators wanted: the UN Food Systems Summit
4 June 2021 1:00pm
Webinar: Implementing SMART in the Marine Environment

20 May 2021 12:00am
Announcing the 2021 CLP Team Award Winners

17 May 2021 12:00am
Recent articles/resources
14 April 2021 1:31pm
Repository of fish/fisheries tech projects!
9 April 2021 2:53pm
O-FISH (Officer's Fisheries Information Sharing Hub)
9 February 2021 1:42am
18 February 2021 12:01am
Hi Karima - Are you looking for volunteers in specific regions or fisheries?
Using AIS Data to Investigate the World’s Fishing Ports

2 February 2021 12:00am
Small-scale fisheries and tech resources
5 January 2021 9:45am
FIS Call for Expressions of Interest (closed)

8 December 2020 12:00am
Challenge #3: Fish Catch Monitoring
4 December 2020 8:47pm
Sustainable Fishing Challenges: Fish Catch Monitoring

4 December 2020 12:00am
Tech Tutors: How do I use open access remote sensing data to monitor fishing?
2 December 2020 9:12pm
18 November 2023 1:47am
Hi Sol,
I think your concern is well placed. The pros typically tow an array of hydrophones, in its simpler configuration it looks like a long fat rubber hose containing maybe a dozen transducers feeding their electrical signals to a recording unit back on the ship. All this is done to reduce noise from the ship, from waves crashing, and flow noise. The multiple transducers can also be electronically tuned to be directional so that it can be "pointed" away from a noise source (like the ship).
In your position, I would just try the simplest thing that could work, then fix the problems as they arise. It could be you may need to be dead in the water while recording. To address surface noise (slapping waves, wind), you could mount the hydromoth low down on a spar buoy, which you tow into position.
Best of luck, it sounds like an interesting project (c: