Using drones to crack down on illegal fishing

By GRID-Arendal

July 17^th, 2019

Originally published by TODAY Business, written by W. J. May.

Measuring 1.37 million square km in size, Seychelles’ sprawling exclusive economic zone is a challenging maritime space to police. This week, the Coast Guard spent time out at sea with the team behind an award-winning drone project designed to tackle illegal fishing, and soon hope to add the innovative tool to their arsenal.

FishGuard and SCG personnel prep the drone for launch. Credit: Valentin Emelin, GRID-Arendal

The FishGuard team and SCG aboard the PS Topaz. Credit: Rob Barnes, GRID-Arendal

FishGuard, representing a unique consortium of three international partners, is working in Seychelles to combat illegal fishing. At the invitation of the Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), the team has been working with local authorities like the Seychelles Coast Guard (SCG) and Ministry of Environment since the beginning of the year. Dr. Valentin Emelin, Environmental Crime programme manager and Rob Barnes, certified drone pilot and communications expert, represented FishGuard on the most recent visit to Seychelles that ran from 5 July until 12 July.

Following an initial flight in Seychelles earlier this year in February, the pair hoped this time round to deploy the newly calibrated drone on its first demonstration flights.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, unfortunately, this did not occur, but in the meantime, FishGuard hosted a training exercise aboard the SCG ship, PS Topaz.

This aimed to familiarise crew members with the Mavic II, a quadcopter considered one of the most advanced drones on the market.

The training was coordinated on behalf of the SCG by Second Lieutenant Julian Morel.

“The exercise included the testing of capabilities of Mavic II at sea to inspect a suspicious vessel, take video footage and photos of the target and then return to the mother ship. The flying range tested was 3.5 km and the footage was informative and of good quality,”

explained Dr. Emelin.

All tests were successfully conducted and the SCG now moves a step closer to fully benefiting from the remote-controlled devices, which have the potential to greatly reduce patrol costs.

Dr. Emelin noted that technology will enhance the SCG’s capability to collect evidence. By being able to remotely approach a suspect ship, inspect illegal catch on a deck or determine if a crew is armed, the drones will also increase the safety of operations.

The FAO estimates that illegal fishing affects one in every five fish caught, with annual cost stretching up to $23 billion.

The UN food agency says that many fish stocks in oceans around the world are being overfished, with fish consumption rising above 20 kgs per person in 2016 for the first time.

The Blue Marine Foundation recently claimed that Yellow fin tuna in the Indian Ocean are suffering from overfishing.

Who is FishGuard?

FishGuard was recently the recipient of a grant of $150,000 following a competition held by the National Geographic Society. Said competition sought to identify innovative solutions and technologies to protect and sustain fisheries in coastal communities.

The team’s award-winning project uses drones fitted with surveillance equipment to autonomously monitor large areas of water for signs of illegal fishing.

FishGuard represents a collaboration between the Moroccan-based start-up, ATLAN Space, who develop Artificial Intelligence for drones, Norwegian Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), an analytical Norwegian non-profit and GRID-Arendal, a Norwegian environmental foundation working closely with the United Nations Environment.