The Ground Up Fight against Illegal Fishing

A World Bank project in Liberia shows us that one way to fight illegal fishing is to combine mobile technology with community interest.  And this innovation is in dire need.  The Eastern Central Atlantic is home to some of the high rates of illegal fishing in the world.

Communities in Liberia have been organized for fisheries monitoring under the Community Sciences program.  In addition to oceanographic data, they capture data on illegal trawlers in the area. A mobile application has even been developed (see the entry for August 20^th here).  Community monitors snap a photo, enter in a few bits of information, and then beam it all to the Trawl Spotter, a publically-available, real time map for law enforcement officials to see.

Here’s a WB video with more:

Trawlers from World Bank on Vimeo.