South Atlantic Fishery Management Council

Seminar Series: The SMILE Project- Using Citizen Science and Technology to Collect Fish Lengths

Date:
Time:
-
Location:
Via webinar only.

Many reef fish like hogfish, snapper, and grouper are vital to ecosystems and economies, but managers often lack key biological data. The SMILE(Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimate) Project uses trained, citizen scientist divers with laser-mounted “FishSense” cameras and AI to generate accurate, non-extractive size data to fill this gap. This seminar will share early results, demonstrate interactive data displays, and highlight diver motivations for participating in citizen science.

Presenter: Jen Loch with REEF

Two divers in the water wearing white shirts with the REEF logo on the upper arm. One holds a large underwater camera, the other holds a pad and pencil while showing the ‘hang loose’ hand signal.
Photo: Daryl Duda