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Environmental Business Review | Tuesday, May 03, 2022
"Technologies that follow fish and seafood from the ocean to the dish, comprising sensors and blockchain, are being used to improve transparency and provide consumers with more details about where a product comes from and the steps it takes to get to the table."
FREMONT, CA: Many sectors have become gradually digital in past years. This is most apparent in sectors of the economy with which we interact daily: media, financial services, manufacturing and pharmaceuticals. When considering the ocean, you're thinking about scientific aspects like biology, iceberg tracking, divers, weather, and whale and seabird migration. What doesn't instantly occur to most people is marine technology. The global economy, like any other sector, is experiencing digitization.
Nevertheless, the digital transformation of the ocean is difficult due to the lack of communication infrastructure and the problems of the underwater environment. The oceans cover about 70% of the planet and are an important part of the journey to achieve climate change goals, food security and improved health. Yet, much remains unexplored. Here are the greatest opportunities for tech companies and technicians.
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Getting To Know Our Oceans
It is frequently said that we know less about the ocean than about the universe. This is transforming rapidly. New technologies are collecting unprecedented data about our oceans and marine assets. For instance, sensors, autonomous submersibles, and smart buoys collect data at a lower cost, often in addition to or as a substitute for living research vessels and human activities. Collecting this information is important, but all this data requires to be analyzed. Much work is underway to magnify access to and interoperability of this data to support decision-making in many maritime sectors. This data support us in better understanding what the ocean occupies, where these objects are, and where they are headed. This can be anything from marine life to fishing gear. Artificial intelligence and machine learning are analyzing data on critical tasks like carbon monitoring, sea level rise, near-zero water temperature monitoring, and species migration to help comprehend their impact on fisheries and sea routes.
Tech Opportunities in the Ocean Sector
We often consider offshore oil stewards, captains, fishermen, and factory workers standard roles in the maritime economy. Still, the advancement of automation presents new opportunities for non-traditional workers. As work at sea is progressively being replaced by roles on land, workers have new opportunities to partake in the maritime economy. Technologies that hunt fish and seafood from the ocean to the plate, comprising sensors and blockchain, are being utilized to increase transparency and provide consumers with more information regarding where a product comes from and the steps it takes to get to the table. Fish processing plants are being automated with fewer and fewer workers, who are growingly focusing on robots, information technology services and cybersecurity to keep the plants running easily. Artificial intelligence is used to decrease waste and increase yields.
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