Tag: mobile technology

Crowdsourced policing apps allow mobile users to report illegal fishing.

Although reporting illegal fishing using smartphone apps will not eliminate the problem of overfishing entirely, certain mobile technology, such as reporting apps like ShipWatch, make it easier for users to quickly and conveniently report suspicious fishing activity they might witness, which could help improve local enforcement in the area.

Countries do not lack fishing rules but they have a hard time enforcing laws.

Globally, it is estimated that three quarters of fishing grounds are overfished. What this means is that fish are being removed from waters at a quicker rate than the population is being replenished. One of the main reasons this problem exists is people engage in unlawful fishing practices.

Strict laws do exist around the world for fishing grounds, but it is not always easy to enforce them. For instance, in Ghana, there are certain fishing bans, but the country does not have the necessary resources that would enable it to adequately police its coastline. Approximately a third of all fishing that takes place across this West African region is done so illegally.

Mobile technology may be key in helping this problem.

According to Nature Conservancy Senior Technologist Matt Merrifield, “There are laws in place to say [the fishing] is illegal. The problem is they lack any kind of reporting mechanism. Our idea is to build out a little citizen science tool for any fisherman who’s out there on water. They can take a photo and report these guys.”

Merrifield recently worked on ShipWatch, a reporting app, for a Fishakathon event that was organized by the US State Department. He said that once everyone owns a location-aware phone and they have the ability to document illegal fishing activities and what is being caught, innovation will result. He added that the infrastructure did not exist in the past but once people have the ability to submit data and centralize it, this will help to solve the issue.

The ShipWatch mobile technology app is simple software that is based around the online mobile media sharing and social networking service, Instagram. Whenever a user witnesses what they believe is questionable fishing activities, they can snap a photo, create a tag, and upload what they have captured to a central map.

Wearable devices are becoming more common. Most of these devices have very limited uses, with some existing only to keep track of how many steps a person has taken in a short amount of time. More ambitious devices are beginning to enter the market, but whether or not these devices will find any success is suspect. Many people are showing interest in wearable technology, but this does not mean that these people will be using these devices on a daily basis.

Currently, one of the major selling points of wearable devices is that they can simply do what smartphones already do, but better. Smartphones are quite capable of doing anything a pair of augmented reality glasses or a smartwatch can do. These devices have been equipped with features that are considered “new” to the field of wearable technology for years. While some wearable devices may be able to outshine smartphones, they can only manage to do so by having a very specific focus on a particular purpose. Smartphones, however, are not restricted to a singular focus and can do many things very effectively.

Wearable devices may have very limited market appeal. Because they do not actually offer something new, apart from how a person uses a mobile device, they may be a hard sell to consumers. Many people are happy to use their smartphones and tablets in public, and these devices have become something of a fashion accessory for people everywhere. Wearable devices do not have the same appeal currently. Augmented reality glasses, for instance, are not designed with appearance in mind. As such, those interested in such devices may shy away from using them because of how they look, and how these devices will make them look in public.

Wearable technology does have a future, but what that future looks like is difficult to say for certain. In the early days of mobile technology, there was uncertainty regarding how popular mobile phones would be. Wearables may well be the next smartphone, if they can manage to overcome some of the challenges that they will experience in society.