| “This has appeal because cell phones are already accessible by 85 percent of the population.” | |
| Scott Baker, North Carolina Sea Grant |
|
Could cell phones be used as citizen science tools that include more fishermen in the resource management process? This question was at the heart of a two-part North Carolina research project that evaluated how anglers might use their personal cell phones to text catch-and-effort information directly to a computer database.
“It’s an experiment to see if there’s a mechanism where everyone could submit fish data electronically,” says Scott Baker, fisheries specialist with the North Carolina Sea Grant Extension Program. “This has appeal because cell phones are already accessible by 85 percent of the population.”
The RecText pilot project with charter boat captains and follow-up testing with tournament fishermen found that texting was an effective tool for collecting simple data with a clear protocol from an engaged group, but it was less useful in the distracting tournament environment.
“It’s a first step,” Baker says. “We’re spawning ways to look at using cell phones as a tool as opposed to simply a communications device.”
Creating Opportunity
Baker says he often hears recreational and commercial fishermen complain about the survey methods and numbers that federal and state fishery managers use to determine regulations.
“There’s a lot of unease,” he says. “It’s worth exploring additional ways to collect that data and ways to engage the industry. Using cell phones seemed like a simple approach that would give everyone the opportunity to participate.”
Pilot Effort
In 2008, Baker and software developer Ian Oeschger received a Sea Grant mini-grant to conduct a pilot study with six charter boat captains in the Wilmington area. The captains used prepaid mobile phones to text their day’s catch using a special code to Twitter—then, a little-known online text-messaging service. The real-time submissions allowed Baker to tally and monitor data as they came in.
“It worked out really well with just six people reporting,” Baker says. “There were very few errors, even though two of the captains had never texted before.”
Tournament Testing
With additional funding from the North Carolina Coastal Recreational Fishing License fund, Baker and his project team expanded the RecText electronic-reporting framework and tested it at four king mackerel tournaments in 2009 and two in 2010.
Having thousands of tournament anglers as potential data collectors meant that purchasing prepaid phones was out, as was using Twitter because of the registration required. The data-collection process was tweaked so that any personal cell phone capable of text messaging could be used.
At each tournament, the RecText team conducted a quick “how-to” course, staffed educational tents, and talked up RecText at pre-tournament dinners and during registration. And, there was the promise of a cash prize for texting the catch-and-effort information.
At four tournaments, RecText survey kits were randomly distributed. At two events, tournament directors included the kits in each captain’s bag. In all, RecText kits were on board 967 boats.
Fishermen were encouraged to report information on kept and released fish as well as information about their trip even if no fish were caught. “This was an unbiased way to get everyone to report,” Baker says.
Challenges
Having fishermen text in the midst of a hectic tournament was challenging, Baker says.
Problems encountered included discrepancies in fish lengths reported by anglers versus those taken by tournament officials. A considerable number of typographical errors were made, and if fishermen didn’t catch fish big enough to weigh in for the competition, there was often no way to validate their reports.
Catching On
Baker’s ideas, however, are catching on. His text-messaging method could be folded into the design and testing phase of a NOAA-funded pilot project in Massachusetts. Maryland resource managers have replicated the RecText method for commercial crabbers to report their harvest, and a pilot project is underway in Texas to test the use of smartphones for reporting by for-hire fishing captains.
Still, Baker says the approach may be a little ahead of its time. “We found that cell phone use for detailed science data collection may be limited, but as more and more users get familiar with texting, and smartphone applications and platforms are developed, there may be ways to eliminate errors.”
He adds, “It’s possible that texting for data collection will only get better as younger folks move into middle age.”
To see the RecText reporting site, go to www.rectext.org. For more information, contact Scott Baker at (910) 962-2492 or bakers@uncw.edu.
