AWARD YEAR
2019
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
Life Below Water
KEYWORDS
Overfishing, Food security, biodiversity
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
DESIGNED BY
Dan Watson - Project Originator & User Centred Designer
Aran Dasan - Electronics Lead & User Centred Designer
Nadia Laabs - Business Model Designer
Steven Ogborne - Mechanical Lead
WEBSITE
http://www.sntech.co.uk
Pisces
Pisces is a light-emitting device which helps fishermen catch only the right fish.
Pisces is the result of an ongoing 10-year collaborative project with fishing crews, scientists, policy makers and SafetyNet Technologies (SNTech), who share the goal of making commercial fishing less wasteful.
Currently, up to 1-in-5 fish that are caught are the wrong species. Imagine an emergency escape sign that only particular species of fish can see, which would enable only that species to be guided out of a fishing net while the others are caught. Pisces enables this for a wide (and increasing) number of fish, crustacean, bird and mammal species by emitting different types of light (wavelength, flashing rate, intensity) to communicate directly with them, attracting or repelling them based on the light they see.
This enables fishing crews to use their fishing nets far more selectively, lowering the capture of non-target species while maintaining a sustainable business within an increasingly strict regulatory environment. Pisces is being tested in 10 fisheries globally.