2018 & 2019 Winner
An integrated data pipeline for small-scale fisheries
This Inspire Challenge proposal was selected as a 2018 pilot project and 2019 scale up winner, receiving a total of US$ 225,000 to put their ideas into practice.
This project aims to put small-scale fisheries data in the hands of fisheries officers, researchers, and local stakeholders by creating an automated data pipeline to highlight temporal and spatial changes in fish production. It also strives to highlight the crucial role of women in fisheries activities and relationship to dependable household food and nutrition security; gender disaggregated data standards are followed which will contribute to closing gender data gaps.
The project is currently scaling to additional countries in Africa and Asia.
More about the project
Every day, about 40 million small-scale fishers go out fishing, yet virtually none of their activities or yields are documented. This global data deficiency means that small-scale fisheries contributions to local livelihoods and food security are often overlooked in policy, management, and development decisions.
The team has installed more than 300 vessel-tracking devices on boats in Timor-Leste, where the project piloted the concept, that transmit geospatial tracking data through cellular networks to an open-source, cloud-based decision dashboard. Cloud-based analytics and machine learning are then used to identify specific fishing activities.
The dashboard is one of the most sophisticated data collection systems for small-scale fisheries in the world, tracking fishing activities such as the number and type of fish caught by individual boats in near real-time.
New vessel-tracking technologies are sufficiently small and economical to gather the data needed to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development.
Following the successful national proof of concept in Timor-Leste, the project is currently scaling to additional countries in Africa and Asia.
Step by step
2021
MARCH - JUNE 2021
PeskAAS database completion and Penang fisheries fact sheet
Even though large group activities in Penang have been paused due to COVID-19 restrictions, the team has been working on a first draft on the state fisheries.
MARCH - DEC 2021
Updates to application dashboard
The team is compiling user stories from stakeholders which will be used to create a guide of the new wireframe and conceptualisation of the PeskAAS dashboard, making the interface more intuitive for users.
APRIL 2021
FAO hosted webinar including PeskAAS data
FAO hosted the “Information and communication technologies for small-scale fisheries (ICT4SSF)” webinar on how information and communication technologies for small-scale fisheries (ICT4SSF) might enable and support the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines).
Alex Tilley, Team Leader, gave a presentation on how PeskAAS has helped inform policy and how it has led to design the design of a tool that fits small-scale fisheries stakeholders. Watch the full webinar below:
APRIL - SEPT 2021
New addition to the team
A data scientist will join the team for five months to enhance production calculations for PeskAAS, make structural changes to the data pipeline, and develop new tools that MAF and other partners have requested, such as the ability to create customized data reports.
JUNE 2021
Wireframe design workshops in Penang
The team will organize feedback sessions with small-scale fishers in Penang. Their inputs will be used to inform PeskAAS’ updated wireframe design.
2020
JAN - AUG 2020
Updates to the application dashboard
Updates were made to the dashboard on two levels:
- Augmented (paid tier): Re-imagining fishing data, testing with stakeholders, integrating new systems, and using a German train-tracking model to look at how fish catch quantities relate to time spent fishing (efficiency analysis).
- Automated (open access, pending financial sustainability): Optimizing for use by fishers.
FEB 2020
Financial sustainability model report
In order to achieve sustainable funding, the team produced:
- A brief of the peskAAS system with which to approach impact investors
- A report detailing potential business models for the scaling of the peskAAS fisheries data system, including a brief strategy summary and at least two different scaling approaches
MARCH 2020
** COVID-19 ADAPTATION **
Although the COVID-19 pandemic restricted the team’s ability to travel to new sites and work with governments, stakeholders, other agencies, and partners, the team focused on restructuring the PeskAAS technology around a more modular system which allows the systems to work better in new contexts.
The pandemic has highlighted the benefits of digital monitoring and reporting systems, and countries around the world have expressed interest in PeskAAS. Post-COVID-19, the team will expand the system for a broader, global understanding of the value of small-scale fisheries.
Watch the video below to hear from WorldFish Scientist Alex Tilley about partnerships, challenges, and opportunities the project faced in 2020:
AUG - DEC 2020
Field testing
Field testing took place in Lake Malawi, Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, and Penang, Malaysia, and Egypt. These locations have successfully recorded and transmitted vessel movement data. More precise catch and revenue estimates are expected for these sites in December 2020.
SEPT 2020
Addition to project team
A new data scientist from WorldFish, Fernando Cagua, joined the team.
Fernando works on structural changes to the data pipeline that make it easier to adapt from one geography to another. Watch this video where he shares his experience of working with the PeskAAS platform and upcoming data and digital technologies projects at WorldFish:
SEPT 2020
Workshop with government of Timor-Leste
The first journal article using the PeskAAS monitoring system was published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
The study tested the effects of fish aggregating devices (FADs) at increasing fish production in Timor-Leste. FADs have shown success in improving catch rates elsewhere in the Pacific by making pelagic stocks more accessible to small-scale fishers.
Eight experimental FADs were deployed at four sites around Timor-Leste and catch and effort data from FAD and non-FAD fishing trips was recorded. Results indicated a significant positive effect of FADs on catch rates when controlling for random site variation, with FADs paying for themselves in roughly five months or less at three out of four sites.
OCT 2020
PeskAAS blog
An article titled, “PeskAAS: Scalable, Resilient, Secure” was published on the Peskas Blog.
The article discusses new architectural changes and has been used as a roadmap for building the PeskAAS software.
NOV 2020
Journal article publication
A journal article titled, “PeskAAS: A near-real-time, open-source monitoring and analytics system for small-scale fisheries” was published in Plos One.
The article discusses using open source software components including the Shiny R package to build PeskAAS.
NOV 2020
Data security and ownership case study/manual
The importance of defining data security and ownership has become ever more apparent. Challenges faced by the team regarding defining their own accountability, inspired them to develop a manual on the subject, in collaboration with the BIG DATA Platform.
NOV 2020 - JUNE 2021
FAIR data on Penang fisheries fact sheet
A fact sheet on Penang fisheries and the PeskAAS database was completed. The team compiled important information and statistics about small-scale marine fisheries and the summarized data will meet FAIR data standards and be accessible on GARDIAN by June 2021.
DEC 2020
PeskAAS featured in joint of ICTs for small-scales fisheries
A case study of PeskAAS is featured in Chapter 2 of Information and communication technologies for small-scale fisheries (ICT4SSF) published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and WorldFish.
2019
JAN - APRIL 2019
Developed partnerships and data integration
By teaching machines how to identify fishing activity based on the speed, trajectory, and tortuosity data collected by the PDS tracking units, fishing activities can be filtered from not-fishing activities and potentially flag for suspicious or unusual movement.
FEB 2019
Big data supports small-scale fisheries research
Shaun Wilkinson, Bioinformatics researcher, explains the data tool behind WorldFish’s winning proposal for the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture’s 2018 Inspire Challenge:
APRIL - JULY 2019
Capacity building, training, and participatory development of data systems
The project provided three aspects of capacity building and training for government partners, fisher stakeholders, and data collectors:
- Installed and maintained PDS trackers, attaching trackers to the boat in a way that is durable, non-damaging, and effectively exposed trackers to sunlight;
- Collected landing data; and
- Manipulated and comprehended decision dashboards.
WorldFish and PDS trained and supported 11 new data collectors (one per coastal municipality) and two in Dili.
A workshop with the Fisheries Directorate was held at the end of April to assess progress and evaluate how tools and processes match needs and aspirations.
JULY 2019
Launch of near real-time monitoring system
The team launched the dashboard, Automated Analytics System for Small-Scale Fisheries in Timor-Leste (PeskAAS), which tracks fishing activities–including the number and type of fish caught by individual boats in near real-time.
JULY 2019
Making headlines in Timor-Leste
The project made headlines in Timor-Leste for the launch of its near real-time small-scale fisheries monitoring system. The dashboard is one of the most sophisticated data collection systems for small-scale fisheries in the world. It puts important data in the hands of fisheries officers, researchers, and local stakeholders. The tool will ultimately enable a better understanding of the contribution of fish and fisheries to local livelihoods and food security.
Read more here.
AUG 2019
Journal article publication
The first journal article using the PeskAAS monitoring system was published in Frontiers in Marine Science.
The study tested the effects of fish aggregating devices (FADs) at increasing fish production in Timor-Leste. FADs have shown success in improving catch rates elsewhere in the Pacific by making pelagic stocks more accessible to small-scale fishers.
Eight experimental FADs were deployed at four sites around Timor-Leste and catch and effort data from FAD and non-FAD fishing trips was recorded. Results indicated a significant positive effect of FADs on catch rates when controlling for random site variation, with FADs paying for themselves in roughly five months or less at three out of four sites.
AUG - OCT 2019
Evaluation of uptake, sustainability, and scalability
In the final stages of the pilot phase, an evaluation workshop provided a final assessment of the system’s capacity and impact, an evaluation of uptake, and an assessment of the system’s sustainability and scalability to other countries and fisheries.
OCT 2019
System testing in seven additional countries in Asia and Africa
The team signed an agreement to expand their pioneering work to better understand stocks and catches from small-scale fisheries across seven countries in Africa and other parts of Asia.
The Memorandum of Understanding, signed at a special ceremony at WorldFish headquarters in Penang, Malaysia, provides the framework for WorldFish and Pelagic Data Systems to further develop and provide access to innovative data collection solutions for fisheries.
“Working closely with innovative partners in the private sector – especially the tech sector – can help us generate more and better data, which in turn can mean our research has a greater impact in supporting some most vulnerable people in the world,” said Dr. Alex Tilley, Scientist at WorldFish.
Read more here.
OCT 2019
Project awarded US$125K Inspire Challenge scale-up grant
The project was awarded a 2019 Inspire Challenge Scale-up grant of US$125K at the third annual convention of the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture, 16-18 October 2019.
2018
OCT 2018
Project awarded US$100K Inspire Challenge grant
The project was one of five winners of the Inspire Challenge 2018 and was awarded US$100K at the second annual convention of the CGIAR Platform Big Data in Agriculture, 3-5 October 2018.
NOV 2018 - APRIL 2019
Registration of fishers and installation of boat trackers
The WorldFish in-country team, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MAF), deployed roughly 300 Pelagic Data Systems boat tracking units on artisanal fishing boats around Timor-Leste, including the enclave of Oecusse.
This partnership enabled the project to support MAF in augmenting the national registration of small-scale fishing boats while installing tracking units at the same time.
Gender & Youth Inclusion
- The project is actively collecting sex-disaggregated data following CGIAR gender-disaggregated data standards.
- The project has highlighted the critical importance of women in fishery activities as dependable sources of household food and nutrition security in Timor-Leste.
- The project informed a study published by Springer in May 2020 that aims to characterize and preliminarily quantify women’s fishing activities in Timor-Leste. This study represents the first step towards equitable inclusion of women in marine management and contributes to current initiatives that are building momentum for greater gender equity in small-scale fisheries.
- The team is examining women’s contributions to household food and income using focus group discussions, market surveys, and landings data from communities in Timor-Leste.
Photo: Kate Bevitt / WorldFish. Francisca Formandes goes gleaning at the beach next to Beacou village on the north coast of Timor-Leste.
Partners
Wilderlab, a biomonitoring service based in Wellington, New Zealand, develops, improves, and maintains R scripted pipeline from catch data records to peskAAS decision dashboard. They also carry out statistical testing of nearest neighbour assignment.
WorldFish provides project leadership, on-the-ground activities, project implementation, and project reporting.
Pelagic Data Systems developed the integration of catch data with boat tracking data and innovates machine learning techniques to pattern detection in fishing behaviour and production over time and space.
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