In the African country of Malawi, many people make their living fishing. Lake Chilwa is a large lake in Malawi. But when fishers on Lake Chilwa cast their nets, they don’t always catch fish.
Anderson Thembwa has been a fisher in Malawi since 1994. “You pull the net and you realize all you have down there are frogs, crabs, juvenile fish and debris,” Anderson says.
Israeli scientists created a solar-powered underwater robot called SOUND to help fishers find fish. SOUND can roam autonomously (without human control) for five days at a time. The robot counts fish and sends its findings back to people on the lake’s shore.
The goal is to help local fishers in developing countries understand their fish populations so they can avoid overfishing and capturing unwanted species.
They tested the system in Malawi, among other locations, where fishers are facing many problems related to uncontrolled fishing.
SOUND is a solar-powered, transparent (clear) cylinder a meter (3 feet) long. Down in the water, the robot scans the area with active sonar and transmits signals through satellite communication if it detects fish.
SOUND sends its findings to fishers and scientists through texts or emails. The robot creates no noise that scares fish away. During tests, SOUND detected individual fish as short as 6 centimeters (2.4 inches).
SOUND could help fishers spend less time on the water because they would know exactly where to find fish. They would not have to rely on trial and error like the Lake Chilwa fishers. This could mean less fuel is used by boats searching for schools of fish.
David Brown adapted this story for Mongabay Kids. It is based on an article by Charles Mpaka, published on Mongabay News:
