From Hillarys to Geraldton, Dragonfly team members Dr Philipp Neubauer, Mark Jones, and Kusal Ekanayake, hit the road with Western Rock Lobster on its Digital Ecosystem Roadshow to show fishers the benefits of fishery data analysis.
Dragonfly Data Science was invited to run a workshop during Western Rock Lobster's (WRL) Digital Ecosystem Roadshow to show fishers how embracing new technology can provide innovative solutions for the Western Australia fishery.
WRL, Australia’s peak body for the commercial rock lobster industry, has recently launched Member Central, a digital ecosystem that gives fishers easy access to services that support their fishing operations. These include the following:
- FishOps - a catch-recording application.
- Wharf Talk - a closed community forum where fishers can connect with others and build community..
- Trip-IQ - a real-time trip-planning and weather-tracking application.
- SeaSafe - a safety and training learning management system (LMS).
- Back of Boat - an e-commerce platform fishers can use to sell rock lobster back on shore.
Member Central brings together development and research undertaken through WRL’s digital transformation programme, creating a ‘one-stop shop’ for rock lobster fishers.
“Since digitising our systems, we have been collecting more high-quality data and information than ever before,” says Cam Allen, WRL’s Communications and Marketing Officer. “The only thing we were missing was an effective way to use it, and that’s where Dragonfly comes in.”
Putting fishery data into action
Dragonfly specialises in analysing fishery data to create and design tailored solutions that help optimise a fishery’s operations and sustainability.
For example, Dragonfly can use population modelling, which involves using mathematics and statistics to show how fish populations change in response to environmental and fishing drivers, helping fishers to better understand the resource, and predict where to target their fishing.
A tailored approach to each fishery
On the roadshow, Philipp, Mark, and Kusal shared examples of Dragonfly’s work with New Zealand fisheries, including Bluff Oyster Fishery, pāua mapping, and Dragonfly’s Right Time Right Place project, to show Western Australian fishers exactly how data analysis can help inform their fishing practices.
But Philipp says to make a meaningful difference for fishers, they first need to understand the unique environment they’re working in.
“It wasn’t until we were sitting down with the fishers on the roadshow asking about their day-to-day that we were able to understand how we could apply our technology to their processes or help mitigate their concerns.”
“Seeing Western Rock Lobster invest in technology for their fishers is a really promising step forward. The work that we do isn’t only for the present, but it’s to build lasting frameworks that benefit the next generation of fishers.”
Between the roadshow’s two events at Hillarys and Geraldton, 44 fishers attended, which is no small feat.
“It’s not easy to get fishers in a room together, many of them would rather head out to sea! But for us, it was the first time we’ve seen meaningful engagement between fishers and developers,” says Cam.
“Seasoned fishers tend to stick to traditional methods, but you could see their attitudes start to shift after Dragonfly showed them what was possible with new technology. Fishers now understand there are real benefits to be reaped from it to improve their fishing ability.”
Read more:
- Read up on Western Rock Lobster - Western Rock Lobster.
- Learn more about the roadshow - WRL | Digital Ecosystem Roadshow.
- Our recent updates to Deckhand, to support new reporting rules - Crayfish reporting update.