Blink:

I revere innovation. A leading resource for me to learn about the latest is NHK TV Japanese cable. This past weekend I watched a program about the marine tech innovator Mizukami Yosuke who just introduce a smart fishing app which utilizes AI (artificial intelligence).

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I am optimistic about AI potentially solving our planet’s health and environmental issues. In Japan, due to overfishing, pollution and climate change, catches have decreased to one-third of their 1980s peak.Further compounded by the decline in fish stocks, the government has stepped in to regulate and innovate solutions which will result in a more sustainable fishing industry. In western Japan, an ocean technology company specializing in marine resource management lead by Mizukami Yosuke, began working with fishing fleet captains in 2018, compiling all the information from their detailed hand-written journals for ten years. Then utilizing AI to analyze all the historic data (e.g., water conditions like temperature and tides, catch sizes by location, etc.) his company created an app to assist fishing fleet and independent fishing captains to identify fertile locations with healthy stocks. The launch of the innovative app was challenged by the older generation of captains who were not tech-savvy. His company needed to conduct extensive training sessions with local fishing associations, plus communicate the benefits of digitalizing fishing records.

Since 2019 Yosuke’s company continues to further refine the app:

• Incorporating satellite GPS data to further pinpoint ideal locations. Saves time and operational fuel costs.
• Analyze real time market pricing to better monitor supply and demand to prevent overfishing

AI marine resource management, improved fish catches: Smart Fishing!