Smart Fishing – The Indo- Pacific Fishing Vessel Observation Network
Uniting diverse communities to crowdsource real-time ocean data for shared socio-economic benefit
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Research Facility
60 •
Challenge
Fishers, coastal communities and decision-makers lack reliable, fine-scale information about changing ocean conditions beneath the surface. This gap makes it hard for fishers to plan around warming waters, for industry to manage risk, and for governments to forecast and prepare for climate-driven extremes.
Solution
The Smart Fishing program provides a collaborative, lowcost system for collecting vital subsurface ocean data that is integrated into ocean models in real time. By equipping commercial fishers with simple sensors on their gear, the team generates real-time temperature records in areas where traditional monitoring is limited. Fishers gain direct access to their own data to support decision-making, while fisheries managers, researchers and policymakers use the shared dataset to improve models and forecasts.
Target customers / end-users
• commercial fishers
• coastal and First Nations communities and researchers – access knowledge to identify, understand and adapt to environmental change
• fisheries managers, industry, policymakers.
Progress
• AU $ 3m + collaborative funding
• 70 vessels across nine Indo- Pacific nations, plus First Nations and citizen science partners
• data integrated into fishing dashboards and tested in government ocean forecasts.
80 + active collaborations
ARC Funded
Community co-designed
Cross-sector networks
Climate & Clean Energy
This program unites UNSW researchers, fishers and citizen scientists to crowdsource subsurface ocean data. Low-cost sensors on fishing gear record and transmit temperatures in real time, and fishers access their own data to link catch with conditions. At the same time, communities, industry and researchers gain better models, forecasts and insights into warming trends.