Citizen Science Investigations - empowering fishermen

Can Citizen Science be used to deliver policy-relevant marine data?

Marine Theme Objective: Science for Integrated Marine Management What’s the issue?

The development of policy is becoming more complex with larger datasets required to support the assessment of impacts whole ecosystems over long periods of time. For example, many years of data collected over wide geographical areas on

can be required to assess the impact of different pressures (e.g. noise, litter, fishing) on ecosystem health for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive. The funding needed for data collection is considerable and limited, so it is important to look new cost-effective ways of obtaining and processing data. Citizen science has the potential to add to the marine at evidence-base through the use of people with no specific scientific training to collect and analyse large data sets. Examples of the benefits of citizen science are common in other disciplines, like ornithology, but the potential to develop policy relevant marine data has never been assessed.

What are the aims of the project?

The overall aims of this project are to understand

how best to use citizen science to contribute to the marine evidence-base and engage the general public in science. To achieve this, we will review

current activities, develop links with organisations

working on citizen science, and identify how new technologies like the internet and smartphones can help. Two case studies will test the utility of citizen science. One will collect seawater temperature data from the computers of scuba divers to provide a resource to help understand changes related to climate. The second will use recreational sea anglers to collect important biological data on sharks, skates and rays using electronic tags.

These activities will enable an assessment of the potential for data collected using citizen science to add to the marine evidence-base. The information gathered and connections made will be used to make recommendations about the most effective ways to use citizen science alongside traditional monitoring and scientific activities.

Figure 1: Scuba divers record seawater temperatures on their dive computers.

Which policy areas will the research inform?

This project will assess the potential of using citizen science and generate data sets that can be used to inform policy.

Temperature data from scuba divers could help us to understand localised climate change impacts on fish and shellfish, and to calibrate oceanographic models. Tags deployed by recreational sea anglers will augment scientistled tagging programmes and contribute to the delivery of the Defra Shark, Skate and Ray Conservation Plan.

MF1230: Citizen Science Investigations – empowering the public through the use of novel technologies to collect policy-relevant marine data

Can Citizen Science be used to deliver policy-relevant marine data?

What are the results from the project and how will they be used?

Citizen science is not a new idea: probably the best examples are surveys on bird migration, population sizes and nesting success. There are many volunteer marine programmes including reefs, sea turtles, and jellyfish, and large science-led volunteer initiatives that test scientific hypotheses like Evolution MegaLab (http://www.evolutionmegalab.org/). The internet and mobile phones are now used to engage large numbers of people in scientific tasks that cannot be automated, like matching known whale songs to hydrophone recordings, analysing videos of the seabed, and recording marine litter. The scientific community routinely uses citizen science to collect and analyse data, adding to traditional scientific practices and generating outputs that could not be produced by scientists alone. Citizen science techniques could be used to enhance the marine science evidence-base, but only if we understand best practice and collaborate with ongoing initiatives. To achieve this, a critical review of citizen science will be done in this project and used to identify how to engage with ongoing initiatives.

Our first case-study will develop an internet portal to collate temperature data from divers. There are around 423,000 scuba divers in the UK making over 1.6 million dives per year, many of whom regularly record seawater temperature on their personal dive computers (Figure 1). Researchers currently lack information on seawater temperature below the surface especially for inshore areas, as research vessels typically operate offshore and the existing coastal network of monitoring stations only record surface temperature. The addition of diver temperature data will fill this data gap, increasing our understanding of seasonal water-column stratification and the possible local consequences of climate change. In particular, these novel data sets will enable mapping of physical conditions at sites of relevance to juvenile fish (nursery grounds), interpreting changes in fish distributions, and validating oceanographic models.

fish for sharks, skates and rays around the UK and involve them in tagging studies. Tagging using electronic data storage tags has provided insights into movements and behaviour of sharks, skates and rays that are directly relevant for management and conservation (Figure 2).

There is a pressing need for improved data to underpin conservation efforts for rare species, but dedicated seagoing tagging programmes may involve so much time to find sufficient animals that they become very expensive.

A small group of angling charter boat operators will be trained and will support scientist-led tagging studies, helping to collect important data in the future.

Figure 2: Scientist tagging a spurdog with an electronic data storage tag.

Where can I find further information about this and related research?

For more information, please contact Kieran Hyder (kieran.hyder@cefas.co.uk).

Alternatively, please contact Defra’s Marine and Fisheries Science Unit: marinescience@defra.gsi.gov.uk

Our second case-study will engage with sport anglers who

Defra Science – did you know?

At any one time Defra manages over 2000 research projects covering a wide range of topics. For more information on current research see http://randd.defra.gov.uk and to find out about future research proposals see the Defra Research and Analysis page at: www.defra.gov.uk/evidence/index/htm MF1230: Citizen Science Investigations – empowering the public through the use of novel technologies to collect policy-relevant marine data