News Release

New mobile application for rapid identification of fish species

Business Announcement

Elhuyar Fundazioa

Azti-Tecnalia has presented (for the moment only for Android terminals) ItsasFish, a new mobile application which aims to be a manual for the rapid identification of species found in the fishing grounds of the Bay of Biscay and which are fished by the various fleets (each with their mode of fishing) based in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country or Euskadi (the coast of the Basque provinces of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa). Of course, this does not reflect all the existing species in the zone but only those accessible to the various nets and other fishing gear used by these fleets. The technological centre is working on 80 new species records, which will be published successively on the application.

The main objective of this application is to act as a tool for an initial approach to the animal diversity that we can find on board after such fishing expeditions. Thus, it is not limited to species that have a clear commercial interest, but also aims to gather information on those species that, while not being the target of our fishing vessels, do have a certain commercial interest (bycatch) or are totally discarded as not being fit for human consumption or commercialisation (discards).

Each species is presented with a label providing its official name and the FAO code of the species, its scientific name in Latin, a photograph of it and its common names in Basque, English and French. Then there are some brief notes about its distribution, both geographic and bathymetric, and certain data on habitat and biology (feeding, growth patterns and reproduction). Also provided are notes about the distinctive features of the species, possible confusions that may arise and the how to differentiate from other, similar species, as well as the fishing mode with which it is normally caught. Finally, whether it is a species of commercial interest or not and its taxonomic position are specified.

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