TroutSpotter is an innovative software solution that leverages artificial intelligence to accurately identify individual fish from photographic images. Currently, the platform is undergoing testing by anglers and fisheries biologists across four key watershed regions in the United States.
Why is this important, and what is the core purpose?
To understand this, let’s start with the fundamentals. Here’s how it works:
- A fisherman downloads the free onWater Fish app and create a user profile (note that the TroutSpotter tool is a free service in this app).
- Enable “location services” on your phone. This will allow us to know where your fish was caught.
- Catch a fish! When you are camera-ready, take a photo of the fish’s left side, showing as much of the spot patterns as possible. Record the length. Release the fish.
- Send the photo in the onWater Fish app (or save it on your phone to submit later).
- An AI system then learns the unique characteristics of the fish based on spot patterns and other individually diagnostic features and gives it a unique identification number.
- Researchers with Trout Unlimited and the US Geological Survey will store the data in the event the same fish is caught again in the future.
TroutSpotter is a cutting-edge system designed to digitally tag fish and instantly relay critical data to researchers. This technology holds significant potential for advancing the study of fish populations, especially in the context of the Michigan Coaster, a species that has long been shrouded in mystery.
Why is this important, and how can it benefit the Michigan Coaster?
Consider this scenario:
In late April, you catch an 18-inch brook trout off a rocky shoal in Keweenaw Bay. After snapping a photo and releasing the fish, you continue with your day. Fast forward to summer, when the same fish, now 19 inches, is caught 10 miles east in the mouth of the Huron River. By the following fall, this trout has grown to 22 inches and is caught once again in presumed spawning waters near Big Bay.
Now imagine this scenario multiplied across hundreds of fish. What kind of insights could be gleaned from this data? For fisheries biologists, the value is immense. With this information, researchers can begin to answer crucial questions about the Michigan Coaster’s behavior, including:
- What are their general habits and behaviors?
- Where are their active spawning grounds?
- How fast are they growing?
- How far do they travel?
- What are their feeding patterns?
- Are they schooling or migrating to specific spawning areas?
- Are they returning to the same spawning areas?
- Are they heading up river to spawn or feed?
- How many times do they spawn, and what is their lifespan?
These are just a few examples of the critical data that could be gathered through the use of TroutSpotter. By unlocking these unknowns, researchers will be better equipped to understand the species’ needs and to develop targeted conservation strategies.
With this enhanced understanding, biologists and policymakers will be poised to take actionable steps toward the recovery and long-term conservation of the Michigan Coaster, ensuring the species thrives once more in Michigan waters.
The TroutSpotter technology is currently undergoing testing in Maine, Montana, Massachusetts, and Virginia. It has not yet been scheduled for deployment in Michigan for Coaster Brook Trout research. However, we are closely monitoring its performance and advocating for its adoption in Northern Michigan to support researchers in their efforts to study & revive our Coaster Brook Trout
References:
- Trout Unlimited. TroutSpotter: Digital Fish Tagging for Conservation. TroutSpotter | Trout Unlimited
- WildMe. TroutSpotter: A Tool for Tracking Coldwater Fish Populations. TroutSpotter | WildMe
- GovTech. TroutSpotter App Uses AI to Track Coldwater Fish Populations. GovTech