WorldFish
An AI tool that helps small-scale fishers record their catches with a simple mobile phone photo has won the AI for Planet Prize at the 2025 AI for Good Global Summit hosted by the United Nations in Geneva.
Developed by WorldFish, SmartCatch uses on-device artificial intelligence to identify fish species, size and weight from a single image. It aims to make catch reporting faster, more accurate and more accessible in coastal areas where data is scarce and internet connectivity is limited.
Dr Hamza Altarturi, a postdoctoral fellow at WorldFish and lead developer of SmartCatch, said the tool was built to meet the realities of small-scale fisheries.
“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,” he said.
SmartCatch is part of the AI Small Scale Fisheries Sustainability Suite, a set of open-source tools developed by WorldFish to support better decision-making in small-scale fisheries. SmartCatch and AskData are pilot projects with proof-of-concept prototypes, still under development and not yet deployed. The suite also includes EcoRoute, a route planning tool designed to reduce fuel use and protect overfished reefs.
At the heart of the system is Peskas, an open-source platform developed by WorldFish to monitor small-scale fisheries. Since 2017 it has supported the collection and use of near real-time data across Asia and Africa, helping improve decisions that support sustainable fisheries and coastal communities.
SmartCatch and its companion tools are designed to bring artificial intelligence into the hands of fishers, managers and governments through applications that work in low-resource settings and reflect real-world needs.
Dr Essam Yassin Mohammed, Director General of WorldFish, said the award affirms the value of digital innovation that puts communities and ecosystems first.
“This award 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.
The AI for Good Global Summit brings together governments, researchers, civil society and the private sector to highlight digital solutions that advance the Sustainable Development Goals. SmartCatch was one of three finalists selected from more than 330 global entries in the AI for Planet category.