A local fisher from Te Matau-a-Māui the Hawke’s Bay took video monitoring one step further: livestreaming his fishing expeditions to the world.[1]
Karl Warr operates his small commercial fishing company out of Ahuriri Napier. Recognising a disconnect between peoples’ views of the industry and his own fishing practices, Karl opted to let people see behind the scenes to observe the fishing methods and deck operations on his vessel, and better understand what happens to get the fish from sea to plate. This could help people make informed decisions when buying or eating fish from wild fisheries.
Recognising a disconnect between peoples’ views of the industry and his own fishing practices, Karl opted to let people see behind the scenes to observe the fishing methods and deck operations on his vessel, and better understand what happens to get the fish from sea to plate.
Karl isn’t the first fisher to use a camera on a boat. It is becoming more common for vessels to have video cameras installed to collect data for later use for monitoring, compliance and enforcement purposes. What was unique about the approach from Karl’s company, Better Fishing, was the level of voluntary transparency to the general public. The video stream was available online in real time, 24/7, thanks to camera technology from Nelson-based SnapIT – local leaders in EM and AI tech for fisheries.
Screengrab from Karl Warr’s livestreaming efforts. Image credit: Better Fishing.
An added benefit of the open approach is that it provides an opportunity for people to see real-life fisheries processes and from these insights develop innovative ideas to help improve fisheries practices.
There are future plans to implement AI that can alert people when there’s action happening on the boat, such as hauling or sorting, and to livestream other aspects of the fishing like seeing what happens in the net underwater.
References and footnotes
[1] Post-script: Karl has since ceased his livestreaming operation.