This project will deliver a bilingual web-based tool to improve fish identification and fisheries monitoring. This will benefit Indonesia, but also has a wider Southeast Asian application.

All fisheries monitoring programs require accurate fish identification. Fisheries assessments routinely rely on fish catch data, as recorded by port-based enumerators and/or on-board observers. Data that is flawed as a result of incorrectly identified fish species can affect the quality of assessments. The tuna Regional Fisheries Management Organisations, Indian Ocean Tuna Commission and Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission believe improving enumerators and observers fish identification skills is a priority for Indonesia and other countries in their respective jurisdictions.

Training workshops in Indonesia revealed that government-employed enumerators and local fisheries staff cannot adequately identify many important pelagic species. The Harvest Strategy development process for Indonesia's tuna fisheries has highlighted the increasing importance of addressing this situation.

This project will include supplementary information, by species, making it useful to other lines of fisheries research.