Scottish Inshore Fisheries Integrated Data System (SIFIDS)

Description

Marine scientists at the University of St Andrews have secured up to £1.73 million of funding from the Scottish Government to develop an integrated system for collecting and analysing data from the Scottish inshore fishing fleet.

The ‘Scottish Inshore Fisheries Integrated Data System’ (SIFIDS) project, conceived and led by members of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) Directorate, is based at University of St Andrews.

The funding is part of £4m in grants from the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) announced by the Cabinet Secretary for the Rural Economy and Connectivity, Fergus Ewing.

As pressures on Scotland’s inshore waters grow, not just from fishing but also demands from the offshore renewables, aquaculture, leisure and tourism sectors, accurate information on these activities is needed by the Scottish Government to inform effective marine planning.

There is a growing need to fill important data gaps as public awareness of the potential effects of fishing and legislative pressure increases. The goal of the SIFIDS Project is to develop a process that will use technology and novel processes to involve the industry more directly in data gathering.

The outcome of the project should provide some of the tools needed to make a step change in the way we manage our inshore fisheries - moving from paper forms to the latest technology incorporating automated visual analysis of catch, machine learning and behavioural/predictive computer models capable of informing policy and management decisions.