TO increase safety for rock fishers, rock fishing safety proponents in Auckland, New Zealand, are trialling the use of drones to help rock fishing safety advisor, Sam Turbott, deliver safety messages to people in remote fishing spots.
According to an article on the Drone Below website, Sam and his jet-ski driver Willy Goer cruise the coastlines to survey fishers, gather data on fisher activity, and pass on valuable rock-fishing safety advice as part of a campaign aimed at reducing fatalities among the fisher population on Auckland’s unpredictable west coast. Because jet-skis aren’t suitable to operate in all conditions, a drone with an infra-red camera is being tested at Bethells Beach to help get the job done.
The drone camera will allow the operator to detect people in low light conditions from a safe flying height. Once the rock fishers are located, Sam can then decide the fastest and safest way to approach them, depending on their location. Sam hopes the drone will be more effective at spotting fishermen who are in hard-to-reach places, as some are often perched on rocky outcrops and ledges.
“It’d be great to have a better idea of the rock fishers’ whereabouts before clambering out to give them safety advice,” he says.
“Being able to see where the fishers are, before I spend time getting out to where I think they are, saves me time, but it also makes it safer because I’m not putting myself at risk only to find no-one is there.”
You can read the full story HERE.
