Fishbrain announces scientific partnerships
FISHBRAIN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIPS WITH CEFAS, BALL STATE UNIVERSITY, AND THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK TO ADVANCE RESEARCH INTO SUSTAINABLE FISHING
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FISHBRAIN ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIPS WITH CEFAS, BALL STATE UNIVERSITY, AND THE TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY OF DENMARK TO ADVANCE RESEARCH INTO SUSTAINABLE FISHING
Fishbrain (www.fishbrain.com), the world’s most popular mobile app and social network for people who love fishing, today announced that it has established scientific collaborations with three world-renowned research institutions: Cefas (The Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) in the UK, Ball State in the US, and the Technical University of Denmark.
These institutions will be given access to anonymized data, collected by Fishbrain’s network of more than six million global users. The aim is to provide unique and unprecedented insights into the behavior of the global fishing community, as well as a greater understanding of fish populations, including the spatial distribution of trophy catches and the impact of invasive species.
A paper using data from the collaboration will be presented today at the American Fisheries Society Meeting in Atlantic City, NJ, in the session “Electronic Reporting to Improve Catch Monitoring in Recreational Fisheries: Part 3, Data Use & Integration.” The paper shows that anglers who use smartphone apps to log their catches is promising as a way to generate low-cost data that can help to ensure the long-term sustainability of fisheries.
Johan Attby, CEO of Fishbrain comments: “Fishing is one of the most popular sports in the world, and has been on the rise recently due to the sport’s growing popularity among women and young people. But fishing needs to remain sustainable, so that it can continue to be widely enjoyed. Our crowdsourced data can help researchers to answer important answers quickly and on a global level. We are excited about these collaborations and proud to be part of this much-needed exploration into sustainable fishing.”
These partnerships follow an already established and successful collaboration with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Wildlife Commission, in which users help with the tracking of rare and endangered species.
The crowd-sourced data from Fishbrain users will change the way that information about fishing communities and fish populations is sourced and managed. The results will also empower users to better understand how and where to fish, to ensure that their hobby is not impacting the environment in a negative way. This two-way flow of data between users and research institutions will help to create an ecosystem that is sustainable for the long term.
With the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) having come into play on 25th May, the privacy and safety of user’s data has never been more important in this process. For this reason, Fishbrain will only share de-identified, raw data. As it stands, the company does not, nor will it ever, share its users’ personal information with anyone.
Paul Venturelli, Assistant Professor of Fisheries at Ball State University (www.bsu.edu) comments: “I am looking forward to cross-referencing the data from Fishbrain with my own research. I believe that this combination can lead to a better understanding of the huge potential there is for using angling app data in fisheries research. Ultimately, Fishbrain data can help to secure sustainable recreational fisheries.”
Kieran Hyder, a scientist at the Centre for the Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in the UK says: "Fishbrain’s data and anglers provide an amazing opportunity to improve scientific understanding of recreational fisheries. I am excited about starting to delve into this treasure trove of data and explore the potential of this collaboration to support sustainable exploitation of fisheries.”
Christian Skov, Associate Professor at DTU Aqua, Technical University of Denmark says: “The huge database from Fishbrain has great potential to advance the current scientific insights about recreational fisheries. I look very much forward to explore this potential further.”
ABOUT FISHBRAIN
Fishbrain is the most popular mobile app and social network for fishing, connecting everyone from beginner to pro anglers with the tools and insights to fully enjoy the world’s most popular hobby while catching more and bigger fish.
The app’s interactive map helps anglers find hot new fishing spots and see what other people are catching, with what bait and specifically where. With other features like Fish Species Recognition, marine mapping (provided by C-MAP), forecasts, bait recommendations and more, Fishbrain has become one of the most valuable and rewarding tools in a fisherman’s tackle box. And, with the ability to post photos and videos, log catches, share experiences with an engaging community, and watch tips and tricks from pro ambassadors like Roland Martin, Scott Martin, Jimmy Houston, Mike “Ike” Iaconelli, April Vokey and Robert Field, Fishbrain is not only fueling inspiration, but helping its more than five million users across the globe have more fun by fishing smarter, not harder.
Fishbrain values responsible fishing, supporting a catch and release approach and the sustainable harvest of fish species, as well as the tracking of rare and endangered species through a partnership with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Florida Wildlife Commission.
ABOUT CEFAS
Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science) is an executive agency of the Department for Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) within the UK government. It provides ministers and government officials in the UK and internationally with impartial expert advice and evidence relating to marine and closely related environments and is a provider of UK statutory monitoring and inspection services, including national emergency response capabilities. For more information visit: www.cefas.co.uk.
ABOUT THE PEOPLE
Johan Attby, CEO of Fishbrain is an experienced serial entrepreneur, and previously founded Tific, a software company which was acquired by technology services solutions company PlumChoice Inc in 2011.
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