Artisanal fisheries need tools to prevent trapping of dolphins, sea turtles, and dugongs in their nets. We work with conservationist NGO C-3 and communities in the Philippines and elsewhere. We are providing practical solutions which protect endangered species, and sustain local livelihoods and eco-tourism. Using our smartphone app, fishermen are already monitoring dugongs. Next we are developing devices to attach to their nets to reduce the by-catch of large and endangered species.
Artisanal fisheries represent 95% of fishermen globally but only account for 30% of the fish catch. These communities are poor, increasingly marginalised & unable to practice sustainable fishing practices. Problems of overfishing & accidental by-catch threaten their livelihoods, the biodiversity of our seas, and the staple diet of the communities. We are helping NGO C-3 (Community Centred Conservation) who are working with communities on the ground, to develop tools to help solve these problems
The project brings conservationists & technologists together to innovate and deploy solutions which enable more sustainable practices, whether it be to better monitor endangered species, help reduce by-catch of megafauna, or better fisheries management policy making. We are currently trialling a solution for fisherman to report rare sightings of dugongs. We are developing cheaper pingers to warn dolphins away from gillnets, and helping develop a better solution for weighing fish catch.
By providing more effective tools the project will help conservationists and artisanal fishing communities to better protect endangered species, to reduce the by-catch of sea-turtles and dolphins, and provide the information across communities needed to take better fishing quota setting decisions. In the long-term these benefits will help sustain the livelihoods and staple diet of these communities, and create new opportunities for locally run eco-tourism initiatives.