MarineMatch
Boston, MA
2024, Senior, Interactive & Multimedia
Project Description: Overfishing is a huge problem across the world, and it has personally impacted my own community; this is what led MarineMatch to be born. Surprisingly, overfishing is not always intentional; new fishers often mistake endangered species for accepted catch, or perhaps are unable to recognize the species and decide to keep it. This motivated me to create MarineMatch, an app built in Android Studio in the Java language which uses image classification for users to identify 60+ different types of ocean animals and fish species. This was possible through a TensorFlow Lite deep-learning model with 100+ hours of training! The app classifies the image via an image recognition algorithm from the convolutional neural network, determining the species of the ocean creature and displaying it from the user – all within just split seconds. MarineMatch makes sure there is no excuse for irresponsible practices; fishers can easily identify the species of the fish and make responsible decisions! Through this project, 10 local fishers have already been able to contribute to sustainable fishing practices; being able to make informed decisions on whether to catch or release fish – maintaining the biodiversity of our waters. I really hope more people across North America can use MarineMatch, whether that be fishers, school students or even people passionate about ocean conservation. Additionally, I have linked an Instagram post for MarineMatch that also gives instructions on how to use the app: https://www.instagram.com/p/C3_TtqOJHw_/?img_index=4
Reflection
As an Indigenous person, my community has been the first-hand witness of environmental injustice, members of my community unequally carrying the burden for the actions of our whole nation.. Despite having one of the most regulated fisheries in the world, the US has not been immune to the effects of overfishing. The collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery in the 1990s is one of the most commonly cited examples in the world of overfishing and its economic, social and cultural implications. This is especially true in coastal and many Indigenous communities. Harvesting large amounts of fish and seafood kills lots of other marine life, including juvenile fish, corals and other bottom-feeding organisms. The result is a huge domino effect on the marine ecosystem; overfishing the Atlantic Cod results in an increased amount of shellfish, which causes a decrease in algae population, disrupting the entire balance of the ocean. This is what inspired me to create MarineMatch, advocating for the communities across North America that have been disproportionately impacted by overfishing, and fighting for the conservation of our oceans. White doing research, I felt sad learning about how overfishing had already taken a toll on our marine ecosystem. Despite all this, I was left with hope that we had time to still counter overfishing and prevent more damage from being done, fighting the billions of people across the world and relying on the ocean. Originally, I hoped that a few local fishers would download MarineMatch and be able to use it to identify their catch to promote sustainable practices. My main goal was to fight overfishing by providing fishers a tool to identify endangered species of fish within split-seconds, providing recent information which follows local laws and regulations. By knowing what species are illegal to catch, as well as quotas and length regulations on specific species, fishers are more informed about sustainability fish in American waters. On top of this, MarineMatch allows users to learn more about their fish through the discovery page, helping to fuel education and advocacy around the environment by building connections with users. MarineMatch started off as a crazy idea in my head, but hundreds of people have heard about it just by having the courage to start and share my perspective of the ocean.