Researchers use money-saving AI to accurately count fish stocks in the ocean

They did so using satellite data and machine learning, which is where AI evolves with minimal human interference. The researchers said the new AI tool was inexpensive and could quickly be used by national governments and local authorities to get a handle on the amount of fish in their waters.

Director of Marine Science at WCS, Tim McClanahan, said: "This tool can tell us how fish stocks are doing, and how long it will take for them to recover to healthy levels using various management options. It can also tell you how much money you’re losing or can recoup every year by managing your fishery – and in the Western Indian Ocean region where we piloted this tool, it’s no less than $50m to $150m each year.”

Wealthy countries spend millions every year in calculating fish stocks, with people physically having to go out in boats and estimate from there.  In countries that are not as wealthy, such as some in Africa and Asia, the cost of calculating fish stocks has been prohibitive, despite having the most amount of people who rely on fish for food as well as income.

This new algorithm could change that if implemented, the WCS said.

"Our goal is to give people the information required to know the status of their fish resources and whether their fisheries need time to recover or not. The long-term goal is that they, their children, and their neighbors can find a balance between peoples’ needs and ocean health,” Mr McClanahan said.

Using the AI would mean that simply entering data point such as water temperature, shore distance, existing fisheries management, and water depth would allow a quick calculation with high accuracy.

Executive director of Marine Conservation at WCS, Simon Cripps, said: "We know that during times of crisis and hardship, from climate change-induced weather events to the covid-19 pandemic, people living on the coast increasingly rely on fishing to feed themselves and their families.

The value of this model is that it tells managers, scientists, and importantly, local communities how healthy a fishery is and how well it can support the communities that depend on it, especially during times of crisis. 

"Once a fishery’s status is known, it gives communities and managers the information to move forward to design solutions to improve fish stocks and improve the resilience of local communities, the fishing industry, and local and national economies.”

WCS is now looking for funding and partnerships to develop the AI at scale.

In the EU, it is estimated that at least 38% of fish stocks in the North East Atlantic and Baltic Sea, and 87% in the Mediterranean and Black Sea, are being overfished, according to more than 300 scientists, including 50 Irish experts, who asked EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, to take action on overfishing in 2020.