This winter, REEF has an opportunity for you to involved in ocean conservation from the comfort of your home! We are seeking remote, dedicated volunteers to help create artificial intelligence (AI) training datasets for two collaborative, technology-based citizen science projects, the SMILE project and Grouper Spotter. You can read more about both of these projects below. Volunteers are needed to help build training datasets that are essential for finalizing the AI workflow for these projects, including automated laser detection, fish boxing and outlining, and fish identification. This can be done without leaving your home, and no specialized technology or fish identification skills are required to participate. Visit this page to learn more and submit the form at the bottom of the webpage to apply.
About SMILE and Grouper Spotter
A new collaborative project called SMILE (Size Matters: Innovative Length Estimates) is underway in the Florida Keys to collect information about fish lengths. Using laser-mounted cameras, scuba divers photograph select fish species, and then an AI-driven analysis extracts length measurements from the photos. These data are important for fisheries management of ecologically and economically important species. SMILE is funded through NOAA’s Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP), and includes scientist from REEF, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (SAFMC) Citizen Science Program, the Semmens Lab at Scripps Institution of Oceanagraphy, Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA), Axiom Data Science, and University of California San Diego (UCSD) Engineers for Exploration, (E4E).
Groupers are a highly vulnerable species known for forming dense spawning aggregations that make them easy targets for fisheries. Grouper Spotter uses AI to automate photo identification, allowing divers to document and track individual groupers based on their unique patterns. These data will allow scientists to track fish movements and analyze populations of vulnerable grouper species. In addition, when paired with length measurement technology like the SMILE project, growth of individuals can be estimated.