Applications of mobile computing for fish species at risk management

James D. Carswell, Dublin Institute of Technology
Keith Gardiner, Dublin Institute of Technology
Michela Bertolotto, University College Dublin
Nick Mandrak, Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans, Canada Centre for Inland Waters

Document Type Conference Paper

International Conference on Environmental Informatics of International Society of Environmental Information Sciences (ISEIS2004); Regina, Canada; August 2004

Abstract

This paper describes the on-going development of a web-based and Mobile Environmental Management System (MEMS) prototype specifically tailored to perform context-aware queries and updating of spatial datasets. Spatially enabled computing can provide situation aware assistance to both web-based and mobile users by presenting the right information at the right time, place, and situation using context-associated knowledge. Contextassociated knowledge is assembled by combining knowledge gained about information accessed in the past with the activities planned by the user, together with other situation dependencies (e.g. location) of these activities. The MEMS datasets are provided by the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the prototype is customised to the specific needs of the Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences (GLLFAS) Fish Habitat Section’s requirements for fish species at risk assessment. Currently, researchers, habitat biologists and enforcement officers have access to the fisheries database, containing layers of biological information (e.g. spawning sites, weed beds, substrate type, etc.) solely from the office. Delivering these data overlaid on base maps of the Great Lakes region to a spatially enabled hand held device and linking it to each task currently being investigated will allow for mobile GLLFAS biologists and enforcement officers in the field to make informed decisions immediately.