Technology Beats Tall Fishy Tales

The Ministry of Fisheries is adding space-age technology to its toolbox to improve its management and long-term conservation of fish stocks.

The innovative technology is so precise that it can drill down into the data to identify which species were caught, when and where they were caught, the fishing method used, and even who made the catch.

The locally-developed 'SeePower' technology produces contoured heat maps which, when laid over existing Ministry of Fisheries data collection systems, provide a visual analysis of data gathered progressively from a site over a specified time period.

'SeePower' is the result of several years R&D by Wellington software innovators, Compudigm International Ltd. Compudigm and the Ministry of Fisheries have previously collaborated on other projects, such as the Ministry's Vessel Monitoring System.

Jim Coyle, Development Manager at the Ministry of Fisheries, says the addition of SeePower's technology is a major breakthrough. "Fisheries management is a specialised and complex business, collecting, managing and analysing huge amounts of diverse data over time," he says.

"For too long we have been effectively data rich and information poor and we've struggled over the past few years to find affordable tools that will effectively analyse and present all the information we need to make better business decisions."

Andrew Cardno, Compudigm President, says SeePower has been fine-tuned specifically for MFish to carry out big picture trend spotting and analysis "This means they will be able to look at patterns and carry out long term planning based on hard data. By presenting huge volumes of data in a highly visual manner it able to be quickly and easily interpreted by any of the management team, not just technical staff."

Compudigm's unique data visualisation software systems are also being used as vital business analysis tools for gaming, telecommunications and financial institutions world-wide.

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For more information Andrew Cardno, President, Compudigm International: 04 499 9881 Jim Coyle, Ministery of Fisheries, 04 460 4645.

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