Deep Learning Goes To The Deep Seas And The Billion-Dollar Tuna Industry

The next frontier for artificial intelligence may involve teaching computers to distinguish albacore tuna from its yellowfin cousin. The Nature Conservancy, an environmental non-profit, is working with several Pacific Island nations and a big tuna fishing company to more easily count and identify fish caught at sea using cutting edge technology. The goal is to use trendy artificial intelligence techniques like deep learning to help fishermen reduce the number of protected animals like sharks and turtles that are accidentally caught along with the tuna. The Nature Conservancy hopes that the program could prevent overfishing and help threatened and endangered sea life recover without putting fishermen out of work. "We have real optimism that data science community can help us differentiate a turtle from a tuna, and flag when a shark comes on board," said Mark Zimring, a project director for The Nature Conservancy.