New AI tool seeks to advance inclusive, data-driven solutions for small-scale fisheries

SmartCatch identifies fish species, size and weight from a single mobile phone image

An artificial intelligence (AI) tool for fishers has won the AI for Planet Prize at the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva.

Developed by Dr. Hamza Altarturi, a postdoctoral fellow at WorldFish, the AI tool, known as SmartCatch, identifies fish species, size and weight from a single mobile phone image. The goal is to make catch reporting faster, more accurate and more accessible. SmartCatch is designed for coastal areas with limited internet connectivity and was built to meet the realities of small-scale fisheries. It streamlines catch reporting, dramatically reduces manual entry time and improves data accuracy through on-devices species recognition.

“SmartCatch is built for communities that are managing real climate risks with basic phones and no signal. It helps turn guesswork into usable data and gives fishers a way to participate in their own future,” said Altarturi.

SmartCatch is also part of an integrated AI-powered platform developed by WorldFish called the AI Small Scale Fisheries Sustainability Suite. The platform is a set of open-source tools that combines machine learning, computer vision, natural language processing and large language models to support small-scale fishers in resource-constrained areas.

At the core of the platform is the Peskas decision support environment, which aggregates fisheries data across Asia and Africa into a cloud-based analytics platform, helping to improve decisions that support sustainable fisheries and coastal communities. The suite also includes Ask-Data, a language model interface that provides real-time, plain-language insights from live fisheries data and Eco-Route, a tool that determines optimal vessel paths to reduce fuel consumption, emissions and protect overfished reefs. SmartCatch and Ask-Data are pilot projects with proof-of-concept prototypes. Both are still under development and not yet deployed.

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As the landscape of fisheries management continues to evolve, the integration of advanced technologies like AI has become increasingly vital. Leveraging AI can transform the way fisheries are managed, enhancing sustainability, operational efficiency and regulatory compliance.

By integrating environmental, spatial, biological and socioeconomic data, tools such as SmartCatch can help to address critical planetary challenges like carbon emissions and biodiversity loss by promoting data-driven fishing practices. This marks a major step forward in helping fishing communities build efficient and effective management practices, resulting in stronger, more sustainable futures.

Dr. Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director General of WorldFish, said that winning the AI for Planet prize affirms the value of digital innovation that puts communities and ecosystems first.

“It highlights what the future of food systems must look like. Locally rooted, digitally enabled and driven by science that serves the public good,” he said.

SmartCatch was one of three finalists selected from more than 330 global entries in the AI for Planet category. The AI for Good Global Summit is an opportunity for researchers, governments, civil society and the private sector to come together and showcase digital solutions that advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).