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eBird but For Fish... eFish


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#1 ShadetreeIchthyologist

ShadetreeIchthyologist
  • Regional Rep
  • Charleston SC

Posted 04 February 2018 - 07:10 PM

I'm sure most of you have heard of eBird. For those that haven't, eBird is a free online program that allows birders to track their sightings, while other birders watch and search in real-time.  I think it would be cool to have something similar for fish. I would love to be able to see my life list.  Maybe this already exists... if so let me know.


"Amateurs can potentially make valuable contributions to our knowledge of fishes". - Etnier and Starnes

#2 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 04 February 2018 - 07:27 PM

NANFA members can submit field sightings with good quality photos to fishmap.org. The photos have to be good enough that the team can confirm. Similar, but different to what you are describing.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#3 ShadetreeIchthyologist

ShadetreeIchthyologist
  • Regional Rep
  • Charleston SC

Posted 04 February 2018 - 07:32 PM

Yeah, I try to submit my stuff on there after each trip. If they kept a list of what I've seen that would be awesome.


"Amateurs can potentially make valuable contributions to our knowledge of fishes". - Etnier and Starnes

#4 zooxanthellae

zooxanthellae
  • NANFA Member
  • North Carolina

Posted 05 February 2018 - 06:30 PM

I'm sure most of you have heard of eBird. For those that haven't, eBird is a free online program that allows birders to track their sightings, while other birders watch and search in real-time.  I think it would be cool to have something similar for fish. I would love to be able to see my life list.  Maybe this already exists... if so let me know.

 

I sit on the citizen science advisory panel for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This is something that we have been discussing for the good part of two years now, and are currently working on a framework with much help and direction from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (the folks that run eBird). I have brought up NANFA and the Fishmap project at these meetings as examples of projects that we can build our own framework around. For the most part, the biggest issues that we see revolve around data validation (how do we validate a data point? Can we rely on an individual's ID?) and usefulness of the data. Although it would be great data for NANFA, presence/absence data doesn't really help out managers all too much. It is still very useful data, you will just have an uphill battle to get funding for such an undertaking. I think fishmap and other such projects are fantastic ideas, and hopefully in time more people will become aware of them!



#5 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 05 February 2018 - 06:53 PM

 

I sit on the citizen science advisory panel for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. This is something that we have been discussing for the good part of two years now, and are currently working on a framework with much help and direction from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology (the folks that run eBird). I have brought up NANFA and the Fishmap project at these meetings as examples of projects that we can build our own framework around. For the most part, the biggest issues that we see revolve around data validation (how do we validate a data point? Can we rely on an individual's ID?) and usefulness of the data. Although it would be great data for NANFA, presence/absence data doesn't really help out managers all too much. It is still very useful data, you will just have an uphill battle to get funding for such an undertaking. I think fishmap and other such projects are fantastic ideas, and hopefully in time more people will become aware of them!

Birds are easier than fish. Easier to identify in general, though not always. The big thing is that they move from place to place, quickly and easily. Fish data has to be very accurate. They can't travel over land. If you claim a species was found in an unnamed tributary to a creek that flows into a river, it is essential that your ID was correct and that the location is correct. Heck, I can watch an osprey cross over from one drainage to another. I hope that I conveyed what I am thinking well enough.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#6 ShadetreeIchthyologist

ShadetreeIchthyologist
  • Regional Rep
  • Charleston SC

Posted 05 February 2018 - 09:27 PM

I hope that I conveyed what I am thinking well enough.

You did. 

 

I can see there are lots of steps that will have to be taken to do something of this magnitude. Maybe one day we will see it. Till then I will have to keep my life list via checks on plates in the Peterson field guide.


"Amateurs can potentially make valuable contributions to our knowledge of fishes". - Etnier and Starnes

#7 Michael Wolfe

Michael Wolfe
  • Board of Directors
  • North Georgia, Oconee River Drainage

Posted 06 February 2018 - 07:01 AM

TNACI is also running a similar project that they got funded. But it is currently limited to just a few drainages, not the whole US (yet). They re ignited the limitation of presence/absence data, but still found the collection of the data points valuable. They also are requiring photo vouchers for confirmation. This was presented at SFC this year.
Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing. - Benjamin Franklin

#8 rc6750

rc6750
  • NANFA Member
  • Tampa Bay, FL

Posted 07 February 2018 - 10:53 AM

Yeah, I try to submit my stuff on there after each trip. If they kept a list of what I've seen that would be awesome.

 

Looking into the adding the ability to look at collections per subitter.



#9 FirstChAoS

FirstChAoS
  • Regional Rep

Posted 08 February 2018 - 12:36 AM

 Fish data has to be very accurate. They can't travel over land. 

 

A few can, mainly to get around obstacles or move to nearbye waterways on rainy nights.

 

https://www.youtube....h?v=NQGGJ6coOzo






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