Insight 360: A constellation of technology, machine learning and voice recognition, to provide a comprehensive 360° view of cetacean bycatch under, beside and on fishing vessels, is now available on Defra’s Science Search (ME6050).
Cetacean bycatch—the accidental capture of dolphins, porpoises, and whales in fishing gear—remains one of the most serious threats to their conservation in UK waters. Although the UK Government has committed to reducing bycatch through the UK Marine Strategy and the Fisheries Act 2020, current monitoring is limited. At-sea observer coverage is low, and traditional Electronic Monitoring (EM) systems are expensive and not widely supported by industry.
Insight360 offers a new, cost-effective solution designed to actively involve fishermen in data collection. Using machine learning and voice-recognition technology, the system enables hands-free recording of bycatch events and fishing activity. By allowing fishermen to annotate footage in real time, Insight360 removes the major bottleneck of manually reviewing extensive video, providing scientists with targeted visual, audio, and acoustic data.
The project brings together experts in conservation, technology, and stakeholder engagement to ensure the system is practical, scientifically robust and co-designed with fishermen. Development will progress through three stages: installing and refining an alpha system on three vessels; expanding to a beta version on up to ten vessels for at-sea testing and validation; and producing six fully operational systems for long-term deployment in national monitoring programmes. This approach aims to transform cetacean bycatch monitoring at scale.
The full report, documenting Research and Development activities of the Insight360 system is now available.