It is a dark, stormy night in the South Atlantic. Coastal radar picks up a boat heading out towards the edge of a countrys 200-mile limit of jurisdiction. The on-board Automatic Identification System (AIS), required by authorities to track and monitor vessel movements, tells the watching coastguard that it is a Panamanian registered industrial trawler.
As it approaches a no-take (meaning fishing is not allowed) Marine Protected Area (MPA), newly designated because of its sensitive bottom habitat, the ships AIS suddenly stops transmitting and the vessel goes dark. A call goes out to authorities responsible for fisheries protection and conservation.
Commonly, a patrol vesselif availablewould be dispatched to see what the boat was doing, but this is at night, in a storm, off an exposed coast. Is there a problem with the AIS and the boat is just transiting over the MPA? Or is there an ulterior motive and the trawler has deployed its nets to scour the seafloor, destroying the habitat and nature protected by the MPA?
A growing number of countries due to meet at the conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) later this year have pledged to protect and conserve at least 30 percent of the ocean in a movement dubbed 30 x 30: 30 percent by 2030. Even with those commitments, how do we manage vast areas of ocean to ensure they are providing the protection and restoration so desperately needed for our future?
The example above is hypothetical. If the boats goal turns out to be nefarious and the incident ends as a prosecution in court, visual evidence may be required. Sending out a boat full of rangers, police, or military all takes time, costs money, uses significant additional resources, not to mention carrying safety risks. Its a challenge our marine protectors face across the world.
Most MPAs seek to protect critical ocean habitats and species from one or more existential or predicted threats. The vast majority of such threats, such as pollution and exploitation of nature, are human induced. For an MPA to function effectively there must be science-based monitoring of progress, management of human activities and the environment, surveillance, and enforcement of rules and regulations put into place to abate the threat and protect species and ecosystems.
To do this at scale requires significant effort. Achieving 30 percent protection and conservation of the whole oceanboth coastal and high seasrequires that we protect and conserve 109 million square kilometres (42 million square miles), an area more than 11 times the size of the entire United States.
Securing such a vast area requires new cutting-edge technology. Luckily, this field has been developing fast: from hand-held devices for recording coral reef data, to satellite remote sensing of illegal fishing. Maritime surveillance to monitor fishing and animal movements, watch boat movements, track illegal activities, observe pollution, and keep an eye more broadly on the whole exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of a country, are all essential to ensuring that our ocean is managed sustainably.
Yet, as we move to a far greater area over which protection extends, traditional surveillance and enforcement will need to be supplemented by new advances in technology.
By combining data from a range of sources such as direct observations from other maritime operators, synthetic aperture radar, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), infra-red, acoustics, vessel monitoring systems, and real time AIS, a picture of the activities of humans or species such as whales and fish can be built up.
Lets take the fishing vessel in the hypothetical example above that turned off its on-board monitoring system. Perhaps it slowed from a transiting speed of 12 knots down to 3 knots, the speed at which it could trawl. Was it close to whale sharks it was using to attract fish? Is it possible to get an image of the boats activity that could be used in court?
All this information can be picked out of a sea of noisy data. By connecting the data to existing systems that rangers or authorities use, such as the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool (SMART) system, we can develop powerful tools not just for enforcement, but also for day-to-day management.
It should be stressed here that the use of monitoring and surveillance technology is not all about catching bad guys doing illegal acts. It is also about monitoring movements of species (for example, acoustic monitoring of whales) and measuring changes in habitats under different management regimes such the MERMAID crowd-sourced coral monitoring technology.
This new tech is also useful for tracking and protecting rangers or small-scale fishers. It can build up a picture of how we use our seas so that management plans can be put in place to increase the sustainability of commercial activities.
Surveillance and enforcement with the best technology in the world does not replace the need for engagement of the people, communities, and sectors that rely upon the sea for their livelihoods. Raising awareness of the need to act legally and responsibly remains a major element of the work of organizations such as WCS.
As we work to achieve sustainable seas, protect nature, reverse biodiversity loss, and reduce the threat of climate change, we must up our game using all the tools available to us.
Those tools will include new, advanced technology. Nature conservation appears to be both keeping up and leading the way in the application of that technology to real world challenges. So as countries decide whether to move to a minimum of 30 percent protection at CBD, I say bring it on. Conservationists will be there with the latest technology to help ensure success.
Dr.SimonCripps is Executive Director of theGlobal Marine Programat WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society).
New cutting-edge technology can monitor illegal activities and movements of species across vast areas. Image by Jordan Robins.
Read more:
How technology can help us achieve at least 30% ocean protection (commentary) - Mongabay.com
- Technology | Define Technology at Dictionary.com [Last Updated On: March 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2016]
- Technology | Definition of Technology by Merriam-Webster [Last Updated On: March 25th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 25th, 2016]
- Technology | Define Technology at Dictionary.com [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Technology | Definition of Technology by Merriam-Webster [Last Updated On: March 26th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 26th, 2016]
- Technology Synonyms, Technology Antonyms | Thesaurus.com [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2016]
- Technology News | Reuters.com [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2016]
- Information technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: March 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: March 27th, 2016]
- Technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: June 19th, 2016] [Originally Added On: June 19th, 2016]
- Technology Org - Science and technology news [Last Updated On: July 5th, 2016] [Originally Added On: July 5th, 2016]
- Technology - The Atlantic [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- NOAA Ocean Explorer: Technology [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- History of technology - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- Technology - Blue Sky Innovation - Chicago Tribune [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- Technology - Northern Illinois University [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- Technology Jobs - Monster.com [Last Updated On: August 27th, 2016] [Originally Added On: August 27th, 2016]
- Urban Dictionary: technology [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- IHS Technology The Source for Critical Information and ... [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Technology | NFL Football Operations [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Legaltech News - Law Technology News [Last Updated On: January 5th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 5th, 2017]
- Reddit: Technology [Last Updated On: January 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 14th, 2017]
- National Education Technology Plan - Office of Educational ... [Last Updated On: January 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 22nd, 2017]
- Technology: Industries: PwC [Last Updated On: January 22nd, 2017] [Originally Added On: January 22nd, 2017]
- Israeli technology let Super Bowl fans see plays at face mask level - Jerusalem Post Israel News [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Toyota, Suzuki to work together in green, safety technology - The Japan Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Aston Martin's architect on how to make technology beautiful - The Verge [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- How the New Fox Show APB Approaches Police Technology - Slate Magazine [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Prosthetic arm technology detects spinal nerve signals - Science Daily [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- In This Year's Super Bowl Of Technology, Intel Led The Way With A Sky Full Of Drones - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Learning From Last Year: Technology Funding Outlooks For 2017 - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Technology - The New York Times [Last Updated On: February 6th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 6th, 2017]
- Texas transportation leaders scramble to keep up with car technology - Fort Worth Star Telegram [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- What the Tech: Neuro-Bio Monitor Technology - KFDX [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- How Powerful AI Technology Can Lead to Unforeseen Disasters - Fortune [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Microsoft's AI group debuts customizable speech-to-text technology, rapidly expanding 'cognitive services' for ... - GeekWire [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- How 3-D technology helped surgeons separate conjoined twins - CNN [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- These Four Black Women Inventors Reimagined the Technology of the Home - Smithsonian [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Broadcaster dangles new technology for Winter Olympics - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- A flare for self-destruction: How technology is the means, not the cause, of our demise - National Post [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- How 3D and Self-Design Will Change Technology - Huffington Post [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Republicans Aim to Kill Election Technology Standards Agency - Gizmodo [Last Updated On: February 7th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 7th, 2017]
- Sean Spicer: Coal will be one of the cleanest uses of technology that we have - The Independent [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Is technology getting in the way of togetherness? - Las Vegas Weekly (blog) [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Panera surges to record as Wall Street eyes payoff from technology - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Coming technology will likely destroy millions of jobs. Is Trump ready? - Washington Post [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- How Technology Transforms Dreamers Into Economic Powerhouses - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- Technology Trends That Will Shape 2017 and Boost Your Company's UX - Entrepreneur [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- United Airlines Experiences Another Technology Glitch - Wall Street Journal [Last Updated On: February 9th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 9th, 2017]
- A growing concern: Technology and transportation - Florida Today [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Aberdeen Oil and Gas Technology centre due to open - BBC News [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Opinion: Ethics should be front and center with technology but isn't always - The Mercury News [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Yes, there's a job creation argument for automation and technology - The Hill (blog) [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Nasdaq plans venture arm to invest in financial technology: sources ... - Reuters [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Volvo melds technology and luxury in the XC90 T8 hybrid - Engadget [Last Updated On: February 10th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 10th, 2017]
- Our seas have become a plastic graveyard - but can technology turn the tide? - Telegraph.co.uk [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Technology identifying fastest checkout lanes comes to metro - KCCI Des Moines [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- This Technology Could Be a Game-Changer for the Marijuana Industry - Fox Business [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Small cell technology is large endeavor for state - Crain's Cleveland Business [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Grapevine: Technology at any age - Jerusalem Post Israel News [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- Feeling Tied to Technology? Neuroscientist Offers Tips to Focus and Recharge Your Brain - whotv.com [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- The technology fixing Britain's parking problem - The Independent [Last Updated On: February 12th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 12th, 2017]
- DHS Developing Technology to Identify Terrorist Travelers - Breitbart News [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- New technology has display designers thinking outside the rectangle - The Japan Times [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Graph Technology A Data Standby By For Every Fortune 500 Company - Computer Business Review [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Tesla obtains patent for charging metal-air battery technology that could enable longer range - Electrek [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Tim Cook: Augmented Reality is as big of a technology as the smartphone - BGR [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Franklin County's 911 centers sharing technology to receive texts - Columbus Dispatch [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- A New Angel Investing Platform Connects Deep Technology And Science Startups With Capital - Forbes [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- How technology is encouraging society to be stupid - The Next Web [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- Technology puts 'touch' into long-distance relationships - Phys.Org [Last Updated On: February 13th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 13th, 2017]
- VW plans to use Mobileye sensing and localization technology - Automotive News (subscription) (blog) [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- How dangerous is technology? - OUPblog (blog) [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Valentine's day: what's your secret technology crush? - Naked Security [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Johnston educators among presenters at technology conference - News & Observer [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Is Magic Leap Lying About Its Acid Trip Technology? - Vanity Fair [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- A look at North Korea's missile launches and technology - ABC News [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Parents and technology How much is too much? - WGBA-TV [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Apple's Eddy Cue says technology companies have a responsibility to combat fake news - Recode [Last Updated On: February 14th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 14th, 2017]
- Statistical agencies looking to C-suite, new digital tools to address biggest challenges - FederalNewsRadio.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Even Indian technology entrepreneurs think they are living in a bubble - Quartz [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]
- Is Hyperloop transportation technology coming to India? - YourStory.com [Last Updated On: February 15th, 2017] [Originally Added On: February 15th, 2017]