The benefits of artificial intelligence are becoming increasingly evident. Today, its benefits land in caring for the environment: a new technology called MARLIN was developed with the aim of detecting illegal fishing and protecting the oceans.
According to a note from National Geographicthis will be the first time that artificial intelligence will be used to detect this type of activity and thus function as a lifeguard for marine mammals. The project, funded by Innovative UK, was designed by scientists from the University of Southampton together with ocean science experts from the English company RS Aqua.
But how will MARLIN work? In accordance with National GeographicThe latter will be a robot that uses underwater sensors to remotely monitor animal, human and environmental activity anywhere in the ocean before transmitting data in real time. “Its objective is to detect various activities likely to have a strong impact on the oceanic environment”explains Héctor Rodríguez, a journalist specializing in science and nature.
For this, technology will develop the latest machine learning techniques that will allow to remotely monitor the underwater environment and make decisions in real time. An activity that, a short time ago, seemed impossible.
Until today, the instruments had to be left underwater for months and recovered before accessing their data, according to the research director of RS AquaRyan Mowat on the official page. With the addition of MARLIN, the data will be exported in real time to an easy to use interface. “This technology will revolutionize the way we scientifically monitor our ocean environment,” reflects Mowat.
RS Aqua’s research director stated that There are several main benefits to integrating MARLIN. Firstly, it helps to ensure that offshore construction of, for example, wind farms is sensitive to mammalian activity. Second, it will allow monitoring of marine protected areas through real-time recognition of legal fishing activity.
Finally, MARLIN will provide a sustainable and cost-effective method of monitoring the oceans, which could play a an important role in the growth of the blue ocean economy, according to the official page. This is because real-time remote monitoring systems will reduce the need for monitoring vessels to stay at sea, cutting CO2 emissions by up to 75%.
Monitor the sound of the underwater world
“Harness the power of artificial intelligence to monitor sound in the underwater worldcombined with the ability to quickly transmit information to land, will allow us to provide tools to protect fragile marine ecosystems and detect a whole range of illegal activities,” reflects Paul White, Professor of Statistical Signal Processing at the University of Southampton.
The United Nations ensures that 1 in 5 fish caught comes from illegal or unregulated fishing. According to FARN (Environment and Natural Resources Foundation) some of the consequences of this activity include the capture of protected speciesthreatens the food security of communities that depend on fishing resources and affects the livelihood of those who are engaged in artisanal fishing.
Thus, we see how this activity presents a great risk for the entire ocean, the beings that inhabit it and the people who depend on it to live, such as our society. Artificial intelligence is demonstrated, then, as a tool with the potential to help and reduce these effects.
This content was originally published on RED/ACCIÓN and is republished as part of the “Human Journalism” program, an alliance for quality journalism between RÍO NEGRO and RED/ACCIÓN.