How do we increase iNat fish observations?

I’ve kind of had to learn as I go along, but basically I bought a Jonah’s Aquarium “Perfect” Dipnet, which is like 70 bucks but it’s VERY heavy duty, collapsable and works really well. Rod and tackle probably works best for the larger (more readily ID-able) species- say fish over 8 inches long or so. There are minnow traps, etc- haven’t looked into them a ton but they could work pretty well for sampling.

You also have to be aware of potential differences depending on what type of water you are on. It may for example be legal to net and release on public water, but at least where i live it would be illegal if done in a provincial park.

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Right, if the place is called a “Nature Preserve” or “Natural Area” I’d say just leave the net at home. Roadside ditch? Go for it!

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Excellent idea about the drones–the non-profit oceans group I am president of, Ocean Sanctuaries, is currently in the process of experimenting with them–but, in the ocean. For those interested (although there are others), I’d recommend the OpenROV, which originally started as a ‘GoFundMe’ project and has taken off like gangbusters among ocean lovers.

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With regard to underwater species identifications, while it is true that scuba divers are still a small minority in most coastal communities, nonetheless, there is a concerted effort on the part of non-profits, such as the one I’m president of, Ocean Sanctuaries, to encourage the use in iNat after dives. There are many active underwater photographers in the diving community and we encourage them to submit their photos to iNat. So, the movement is small, but growing. I, just as an example, have submitted 281 underwater observations in the last several years.

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And also, I am becoming more and more interested in taking up scuba diving, and I am sure there are other iNatters considering it too

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Is this topic about fish or underwater observations.

The merpeople (as we landlubbers call them) were a major contributor to our getting our species target in the City Nature Challenge - we could not have done it without them!

On the other hand, the piscatorial societies are politically the most popular recreational societies in South Africa by far! Getting buyin to these is difficult for two reasons.
1, Many are already involved on Facebook: after all it is about size and what I got! They “know” their fish, and dont need iNaturalist - they get all the rah-rah and cute and well done on Facebook, and they dont have to bother with localities, and marking them as captive and thus not getting any feedback.
2. Almost all of the popular freshwater angling fish are aliens, and a major threat to our indigenous fish. (despite the fact that our nature conservation departments for the first 50 years of their existence bred, populated and popularized angling of the aliens). So there is frission between the conservationists and the anglers (esp. the freshwater fish community), and getting buyin from anglers, especially when they have been denied permission to introduce fish to more catchments is not easy.

If anyone has a solution, please tell us.
Assuming that we actually want thousands of records of alien bass and trout and salmon.

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Hello!
This is something that has been noticed by Shedd Aquarium, whom in response worked to build Great Lakes Fish Finder, an app that feeds into iNaturalist as a project. The goal was to use Shedd’s voice as a platform to increase observations on fishes in the Great Lakes on iNaturalist.

Admittedly this app was released back in 2014 but did not have a solid strategy for use, feedback, and marketing. The new freshwater research team at Shedd (https://www.sheddaquarium.org/Conservation--Research/Conservation-Research-Experts/) is looking to promote using the app and to encourage retention of users by providing feedback newsletters on the user base, unique observations, and research progress. This year Shedd anticipates a media “relaunch” of the app/project with these topics in mind. Currently, we/they are trying to publish 1) a research article on diseases seen in fish photos on iNaturalist and 2) a commentary on how we hope the app can help in some part to increase fish observations.

If you are a microfisher in the Chicago area please reach out to me: I am interested in researching the mortality associated with the practice of microfishing and would need some anglers to do the fishing.

You can download the app: https://www.sheddaquarium.org/fishfinder/ or just tag fish reports to the project page on iNaturalist

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I’m not in the Chicago area, but I am in central Illinois. Should I join this?

I think recording fish takes a bit more effort than most hikers and observers have the capability to do. Forget the logistics and cost of ocean observation, but you also need a good camera. Even freshwater fish are mostly caught be anglers and they are of the usual species (bass, trout, various bait fish). If you really want to sample fish you need at least 2-3 people and a seine, and a good “squeeze” tank to take pictures of them with fins displayed well. But even here you can only sample streams and can’t get deeper lakes and rivers. The amount of people on iNaturalist prepared to trawl from a large ship are probably very very low, so our marine fish and inverts observations are going to be few and far between. We may have to be happy with mediocre snorkeling and SCUBA images for the time being.

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In response to ray ray’s comment that: “The amount of people on iNaturalist prepared to trawl from a large ship are probably very very low, so our marine fish and inverts observations are going to be few and far between. We may have to be happy with mediocre snorkeling and SCUBA images for the time being.”

I’m not trying to be a smart-aleck here, but forgive me for pointing out 2 things: 1) 70% of this planet is water and 2) there are a lot of scuba divers who take their underwater photography seriously and who contribute regularly to iNat. I’m not saying my photography is world-class or anything, but nearly 100% of my submission get a Research Grade rating–so, let’s try and remember that just because “it’s in the water,” doesn’t mean it can’t be properly photographed–or, ID’d.

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I agree with everything said, except the last sentence, which does kind of inexplicably put down the efforts that ARE made…

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(Sorry for the delay!)
Certainly! Our main goal is to increase fish observations. We plan to use the project as a fast way to get snapshots of what fish are being seen and how the app is being used along with a means to disseminate information to those interested.

One use we see for iNaturalist-platform is tracking where people are finding Round Goby, especially as they spread throughout the Mississippi River Basin! A large number of anglers uploading their goby observations can cover much more time and space than state agencies. We just need to get that angler-group engaged!

Another use I am currently working on is the prevalence of visible parasites (i.e., blackspot) in the photos of small bodied fishes. Something that is not Great Lakes specific.

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I did also want to say that after big storms, sometimes fish wash up, and because of that, anyone who is a beachcomber may find that they are able to take pretty decent fish photos the very next day after a storm. I got several interesting small marine fish species records that way in Sanibel, Florida. I did not know what the various fish were, but other iNat folks ID-ed them for me.

Also, I find that if you actually see an angler catch a fish, they are usually willing to let you photograph them with the fish.

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I did this a few months ago! My timing was perfect and the angler very happy to help me and ‘science’ Because I haven’t fished in years I wouldn’t have gotten to see such an awesome specimen otherwise.

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I think the issue is simply that humans are terrestrial mammals who usually don’t encounter fish face-to-face. Most users on the site just take pictures with their phone as they go about their days. Not everyone has access to fishing rods or scuba gear, so fish will always be within the minority of vertebrate observations (despite being the most speciose).

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