Fish Identification just got even faster

Fishbrain’s groundbreaking Fish ID technology just received a major boost. 

Fish ID previously worked as a function of your catch logs and would only be available after logging a catch and determining the species. We realized this isn’t always the best case scenario, however. Anglers need to ID fish fast. Whether it's to determine if they can keep their catch, or out of pure curiosity, quick results are a must.

Now, Fishbrain is excited to announce a new shortcut that instantly brings up the Fish Id function. Now when you tap the “+” icon at the bottom, center, of your app screen you will see a new “Fish Id” option along with posting a catch, or report. 

For even faster access, press and hold on the Fishbrain app icon from your phone's home screen, then select "Fish ID" from the Shortcuts menu

Fish Id will open your phone’s camera where you can either take a photo of a fish in hand, or select a photo of a fish from your phone. Fish Id will then run as usual. If location services are enabled on your phone, ID will locate the area of the country, and then narrow down the fish options based on that data.

If your location services are off, fish ID will ask you to pick the body of water the fish came from, but you can also skip the location process and get straight to identification.

After the identification process, you will then be shown a list of possible species to choose from with the first species being the most likely candidate.

HOW TO USE THE NEW FISH ID

1. Tap the “+” icon at the bottom, center of your screen

2. Take a photo of your fish, or select a previous photo of an unknown fish

3. Select the body of water (you can skip this step) `(This step doesn’t share any information, but just uses the info to narrow down possible species)

4. Check our selection of possible species, with the first being the most likely

5. Log your catch with the selected species

Read on to learn about the massive updates that came to our Fish ID technology and how it is being used by fisheries scientists to study species distribution, invasive species spread and more!

NEW FISH ID UPDATES HELP FISHERIES BIOLOGISTS AND ANGLERS

Fishbrain’s Fish Identification function helped thousands of anglers ID almost a hundred different fish species across the country. It was a great start, but because of the thousands of different species in the world and the importance of proper identification, there was still work to do.

Changing the process

By changing the order in which someone logs a catch, we can now dramatically increase the accuracy of our identification feature. Now when you log a catch, you will first be prompted to add the location of the catch. Knowing where the catch took place can narrow down which species are found in that region, or state specifically, thus eliminating hundreds of other species. 

Don’t worry about privacy, however, as you can still keep your catch location completely secret to other anglers and get a proper identification if you’d like to!

Number of species

Previously Fishbrain’s AI could positively identify 80 of the most popular game fish in the U.S. While that’s not a bad amount of fish, a wise man once suggested there are plenty of fish in the sea.  

We studied the most popular sport fishing species in the country and some of the most likely incidental catches to provide accurate identification of over 300 species. 

Improved AI and accuracy percentage

In some cases, images are run through two models, one to see if there is a fish and one with all the species. However if there is multiple species that look extremely similar, it will recommend both (example: Quillback and River carpsucker)

The model also suggests fish based on some of your previously logged catches. That’s why a photo with no fish will still display fish suggestions based on your past catches because of the model’s design to do so.

What is the accuracy rate?

For most species the accuracy rate is now between the high 80s and low 90s percentages, and upgraded previously from a high 70s percentage.

Why is this so important?

All anglers need to properly identify their catches to follow local regulations, but proper ID goes beyond following laws at the individual level. Conservation organizations, like the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, deal with species population issues that partially stem from misidentification. Gulf Council information officer Emily Muehlstein says there are serious issues in rebuilding the greater amberjack stocks in the gulf. 

One of the problems they are dealing with specifically is how hard it is to tell the greater amberjack from lesser amberjacks. 

According to NOAA FIsheries, the greater amberjack is listed as overfished in the Gulf of Mexico. In Gulf waters the lesser amberjack limit is five, with a much more liberal season, while the greater amberjack has a single fish bag limit with stricter season dates.

Smaller greater amberjacks can look remarkably similar to lesser amberjacks to some anglers and the two species also have different regulations regarding legal size limits. Greater amberjacks need to be at least 34 inches from the fork of the tail, while lessers have a slot limit between 14 and 22 inches. Anglers mistaking these two species are not only breaking fishing laws, but hurting the comeback of the greater amberjack stocks as well.

Muehlstein said improved fish ID can help anglers stay legal by keeping the proper fish and help conservation groups keep better track of these species of interest.

“Self-reported data that includes a (verified) photograph, identification and a measurement could be insane,” she said. “We can't (yet) use self-reported information unless it's verified (by fisheries officials), but this could create a pathway to changing that.”

Muehlstein went on to say issues with fish identification can also stem from confusion around common names and proper species names, like with gag grouper and black grouper. She said these two species, while easy to physically tell apart, get confused for each other because of commonly used names which are incorrect. She went on to say identification power in an anglers pocket could easily solve these mixups with proper education.

Ball State University Biology Professor Paul Venturelli also welcomes the improvements to Fish Identification software for the benefit of the average angler and for scientific studies. Venturelli uses Fishbrain catch data in his research, including a current study looking at climate change effects on the abundance and distribution of game fish. 

“What we are looking for is, are these species increasing or decreasing in abundance and how is that changing over time? If we have species that are misidentified it can throw a wrench in our analysis,” Venturelli said. “If we have more confidence in the identification it makes it easier for us to clean up our data.”

Venturelli went on to say that if more anglers have proper ID technology the more likely researchers are to unlock the potential of the data set for the good of conservation and the value of recreational fishing.

He also touted how the new and improved Fish Identification can be for tracking the spread of invasives. If a species is established in a new state, or waterway, anglers can help agencies track these species and their spread by logging them properly. 

“You're going to take that picture and you're going to detect it. You can even flag it and send it directly to agency partners,” he Venturelli said. “There's absolutely a lot of advantages there.”

Whether you’re figuring out what’s on your kid’s line at the local pond, or studying catches to rebuild whole populations of fish, check out Fishbrain’s improved Fish Identification function. From a single catch to the greater good of sport fishing altogether, proper identification is one of the keys to the future of sustainable fishing.

Now let's go fishing. We'll identify the fish!

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