Acoustic Monitoring for MPAs
The Problem
The conservation problems are twofold. First, illegal and unregulated fishing in no-take marine protected areas is ecologically, financially, and culturally harmful. Second, lack of strong ecological data (baseline, final, and in-between) makes MPA evaluation difficult and costly. This project specifically addresses the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
Our Proposal
An array of passive acoustic monitors (hydrophones) would be deployed in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. These hydrophones would be deployed in an array with overlapping ranges and connected to a central processing and power generation hub. The hydrophones transmit their data to the hub that utilizes machine learning to listen for boat traffic. If boat traffic is heard the central hub transmits a simple presence notification to the local enforcement agency. The agency can then send out a enforcement boat to intercept the vessel and determine if it is and IUU fisher or legal boat traffic. Depending on manpower and resources the agency could also send out a drone to photograph the vessel which would again use machine learning to determine if it is IUU fishing and determine vessel ID numbers. In the case of IUU fishing the vessel is then either intercepted directly by the enforcement agency or stopped when it returns to port. The hydrophones also record passive bioacoustic data which is retrieved on a regular basis. This bioacoustic data is once again analyzed by machine learning to determine the presence and in some cases abundance of various animals. This data can then be used by for evaluation of the MPA by comparing community composition over time.
We Assume that...
This project is reliant on an enforcement agency already existing and being motivated to stop IUU fishing.
The project works best in coastal, no-take MPAs.
This project requires fairly high initial costs (~$150 per hydrophone, ~$1500 for the central hub) which is difficult for some agencies.
This project would benefit most from partnerships with groups like NOAA, Microsoft AI for Earth, Skylight, and other programs.
Constraints to Overcome
Real-time enforcement of IUU fishing currently severely hampers agencies. Relying on delayed data means IUU fishers often have time to bring their catches to port without serious fear of negative impacts, encouraging additional IUU fishing and damaging valuable MPAs.