Photo: Fredrik Öhlander | Unsplash
In Gabon, Africa, large fishing boats are fitted with monitoring technology to report their catches, yet many smaller boats have not. While this may seem only of minor concern, it is known that globally around 90% of fishers are small-scale. Collectively they contribute to nearly half of the world's catch. The Gabon government, partnering with France's Collecte Localisation Satellites (CLS) group, created a solar-powered device called NEMO that relays a boat's location to satellites. This will help conservation groups acquire missing data on fish populations and inform the degree of urgency needed for conservation efforts and food security. "Any data at all would help address a major gap in our collective knowledge, says Michel Denjean, the program manager. Currently, there are 3,000 NEMO devices installed with the goal of deploying 2 million worldwide. In exchange for their cooperation, the NEMO device enables fishermen to send out a distress signal should they encounter motor failure, weather changes, or emergencies when far out at sea.
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