Google Innovation Challenge: Technology in Service of Envrionment and Society

Image FishFace The Nature Conservancy TNC: Already up and working in Indonesia

The Google Innovation Challenge released its final cut. TNC -the Nature Conservancy met the challenge with a game-changer. TNC´s FishFace is a project alligned with a new trend which uses technology to save our Planet´s resources and improve conditions of life.

On October 3 Pro Bono Australia reported on the Google Innovation Challenge finalists. 10 Non-Profit Organizations were selected for the final phase and are now eligible for funding.

Of the 10 projects that made the final cut 4 relate to the environment and 3 relate directly to the  ocean. Now the projects will be voted out by the international community online. The publìc will decide which project will win the challenge. Just making it to the final cut involves serious funding for most projects.

Of all the ocean project one stands out for its creative thinking. Fish Face -already operating, focuses specifically on fish stocks status, state and health. Its software coding is one of a kind. 

FishFace allows customers to know where a fish was caught, where  it was processed and how it was distributed using Codebar information.  

How does FishFace work? Small cameras are attached and mounted on fishing boats, fish processing plants and other parts of the fish distribution chain system. Using unique coding and a special face recognition software the system can identify, catalogue, classify and stock fish population. The evaluation of fish stocks status, state and health are the main priority of the program of the Nature Conservancy. The program is already in operation in parts of Indonesia.

Other finalists of the Google Innovation Challenge include the Great Barrier Reef Foundation project, the AUSMEPA Project and the World Vision Network.

The project Great Barrier Reef Foundation introduced a low cost autonomous ROV designed to monitor, map, manage and preserve coral reef ecosystem. The project uses technology to face the difficult issue of reef constant evaluation.

The AUSMEPA Project -Australian Marine Environment Protection Association System is designed to bring transparency to marine traffic and the international shipping industry. The software tracks and makes public in real time specific gas-emissions for each ship.

World Vision Australia Network -another project that made the final cut proposed uses innovative heat sensing fire detection technology. The system which will initially operate in South East Asia aims to save lives lost in wildfires. The idea is simple yet groundbreaking, the network of heat sensing devices would be installed in ground areas of risk and when a wildfire risk breaks out the system would automatically SMS all people living or transiting the area at risk.

All these projects are part of a global tendency which using the latest in technology, software, apps, robotics and other elements create real solutions for global problems. Pushing technology the developers of this modern trend also want the international community to be actively involved and usually open their projects for the entire World to participate.

Early June this year National Geographic warned that these technological breakthroughs were saving the Oceans. National Geographic then highlighted the work of the FishFace of the Nature Conservancy among a top list of sexy tech projects.

“Fishface by the Nature Conservancy is an affordable fish identification tool being used for population assessments in Indonesia. The technology that automatically tags you in a picture on Facebook is being applied to counting and describing fish stocks. Facial recognition and visual computing software are revolutionizing the process of counting fish and fisheries managers are using this information to make fisheries more sustainable,” National Geographic reported.

Other projects greenlighted by National Geographic include Snot Bot, Whale Alert App, Sky Sails, Global Fishing Watch, Saildrone, Live Dives and Edible Eight Pack Rings.

TNC -Nature Conservancy takes their project very seriously and called for people to vote for it before the Google Innovation Challenge ends. For TNC FishFace is not only about fish stocks but about endangered species and human problems like poverty and hunger.

“Fish stocks around the World are declining -with an estimated 90 % of the World’s Fisheries over or fully exploited. In developing countries, like Indonesia, the decline of a fishery can have severe consequences for the environment and for people,” TNC explained.

“Nearly 40 % of the Indonesian population lives at or below the poverty line, so fishing in this Nation of Islands is a way of life and provides an important food source for millions of people,” TNC kicked it.

TNC celebrated entering the final elite of the Google Innovation Challenge. Enthusiastic they responded to the news.

“Google has just announced that The Nature Conservancy’s FishFace project is one of ten finalists in the 2016 Google Impact Challenge: Australia. With your support we could win the challenge and receive a further 500 thousand USD to develop our game-changing technology,” TNC blasted on its powerful social grid.

“Please vote for Fish Face today and help millions of people around the World. Ten seconds of your time to vote for FishFace now will help keep fish in the sea forever! -Voting ends 25 October 2016” TNC made a call to all its followers and beyond.

The TNC program is not a move forward in technology but exposes the reality of fish stocks and the lack of scientific information on global fisheries. Scientists agree that there is an overall lack of data which is not only disappointing but dangerous.

“We simply don’t know which species are being caught where and in what quantities,”  TNC addressed the situation directly.

The International Fishing activity is massive and most expert scientists today agree that “Official Reports” are only revaluing the tip of the iceberg. Informal fishing, traditional fishing, illegal fishing, artisanal fishing and other types of fishing are not included in the “Official Reports”.

“(This happens) especially in complex multi-species fisheries, like the ones in Indonesia and in many other tropical developing countries, useful fish data just doesn’t exist, making sustainable management almost impossible. In fact, some 90 % of Fisheries Globally are lacking in stock assessment data. Traditional methods of obtaining this data are prohibitively expensive, and so in the majority of Fisheries in the developing World, the condition of stocks is unknown.;” TNC adds.

Their solution is simple and pretty inexpensive when thinking about the benefits and results it may reap. A technological network, special software and a few webcams could change the World.

Is there another way of counting fish?

The Atlantic responds to the Question: How Many Fish Are in the Sea?

“Figuring out how many fish there are in the sea is an impossible, essential challenge. Marine life provides a crucial source of protein for billions of people around the World, as well as necessary income for people in coastal communities. But the trends are alarming. The World Wildlife Fund WWF estimated in a 2015 report that some commercially important stocks have been reduced by almost 75 % since the 1970s. If fishing pressure continues unchecked, several species could be wiped out entirely, causing unknown damage to marine ecosystems. At the same time, if governments place restrictions on the industry that are overly conservative, many fishermen could unnecessarily lose their jobs, and untold numbers of people could be deprived of an important food source,” The Atlantic weighed out the sticky situation in which we find ourselves.

And yet they too saw the light at the end of the tunnel...

“Counting fish is a daunting but essential task in protecting aquatic ecosystems -and now artificial intelligence, autonomous submarines, and drones can help,” The Atlantic reported.

TNC described FishFace as a “method and tool to assess stocks inexpensively” and which relies on the “engagement of fishermen, government and industry”.

FishFace has also already made incredible scientific work. Using its face recognition software and fish ID Comparison Guide the program discovered more than 120 species in this specific Indonesia fishery area which despite being very similar in appearance are different species.

They assure FishFace does not only understand diversity of species and can assess stocks exhaustively but that it causes no delay of the integral process of fishing - from boats to plants to final sale FishFace is automatic and non-intrusive.

TNC continued to develop the possibilities of FishFace. They partnered with the company Insight Solutions to develop another unique technology the Smart Weighing Scale. It quickly measures and weights each fish and barcodes them accordingly as they are processed at the plant. The barcode not only registers the information but can be used to GPS track it.

“One can know where the fish was caught, processed, shipped and distributed from,” awesome information that could be available on the shelf of each deli or take out.

What's next for TNC? To break Indonesia boundaries and go more Global as well as continue to improve the system. A boost of funding through the Google Innovation Challenge could make that possible. The people will decide.

“Google believes technology can make a Better World, Faster. The Google Impact Challenge supports non-profit innovators using technology to tackle the world's biggest social challenges. Learn about the projects, vote for your favourites, and check back here on October 26 for the results,” the Giant of the Internet calls.