Fishackathon<\/a>, an annual competition run by the US Department of State. The global challenge brings together technologists and coders to build tools to address the sustainability issues facing the fishing industry.<\/p>\nFishazam won the London, UK, edition of the Fishackathon, and will be competing in the global finals, online, on June 8.<\/p>\n
One of the team\u2019s biggest challenges was creating a device that was small and affordable enough to potentially see widespread adoption. Professional infrared spectrometers cost thousands of dollars, so Santissi and Mbale built \u201ca makeshift DIY\u201d version using open-source software. Connected to a mobile phone via Bluetooth, the spectrometer scans a substance and then sends an image to the phone called a spectrogram that contains information about the substance. To analyze this resulting pattern, Fishazam uses a tweaked version of the algorithm that underpins Shazam, the song-identification app.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe algorithm recognizes and matches the pattern with a song, in Shazam\u2019s case, and with a fish fillet in our case,\u201d says Santissi, who is an economist by training.<\/p>\n
In the hands of fishers, wholesalers, and fishmongers, a tool like this could be used to rapidly survey seafood and determine what it is, helping to halt the onward sale of mislabeled catch.<\/p>\n
\u201cA small, portable instrument that has the accuracy to confirm the type of fish will find use at various points across the supply chain,\u201d says Nada O\u2019Brien, product manager at Viavi Solutions, a company that has developed and commercialized a handheld, near-infrared spectrometer for food and agricultural applications. She\u2019s also published research showing the potential of such a device to authenticate fish species.<\/p>\n
Though not quite as accurate as DNA analysis, infrared techniques have some advantages. Genetic techniques generally require a laboratory, and can take weeks to identify a fish\u2014too cumbersome a process for customs officials or wholesalers who need to examine product quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe idea is to make this widespread, not just available in a lab situation,\u201d Santissi says.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Brien cautions, however, that a spectrometer needs to be high quality and rely on a robust database to work well. \u201cIt takes a lot of effort to build a credible database of fish and a good instrument,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
For these reasons, Santissi hopes to upgrade the device to feature a more precise, professional spectrometer. If they win the Fishackathon global championships, the prize will come with a purse of US $10,000, which Santissi says would be enough to fit Fishazam with a sophisticated spectrometer.<\/p>\n
Santissi says he\u2019s hopeful about Fishazam\u2019s potential to be used as a surveillance tool: with more attention on fish, fraudsters would find it riskier to switch species. \u201cIf you keep everybody on their toes, then there\u2019s a greater incentive to fish sustainably.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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