From AI-Enabled Devices To Low Cost Monitoring Systems: How Technology Can Save Our Seas

Securing a vast area like the ocean requires cutting-edge technology to monitor illegal activities and safeguard aquatic species. What are the latest innovations being deployed to conserve protected areas of the ocean?

It is a dark and rainy night in the coastal waters of the Philippines. Sea wardens—community fishers trained by the local government to monitor the marine protected areas—flag a commercial fishing vessel found within municipal waters where they are prohibited.

The wardens inform the wayward boat over radio of their violation of entering municipal waters where only small-scale fishermen are permitted. The violators ask for proof of their transgression such as a photo or a record of coordinates, but when the wardens cannot produce any, there is no choice but to let the offenders go.  

Indonesian sea wardens face a similar scenario, this time with a commercial boat operating within a marine protected area (MPA), where human activity is restricted to conserve the fragile habitat beneath it. 

Read full article with an interview with SFB MY’s Terence Lim on our work in Sabah.