Updated May 6, 2015

Ocean Networks Canada will be heading to the World Ocean Summit 2015 in Portugal on June 3rd, thanks to the online votes cast by friends and supporters in a video contest highlighting innovative ocean products and services from around the globe.

The Economist newspaper today announced three winners of the Ocean Innovation Challenge from among the top 12 shortlisted entries.

Congratulations to Eyes of the Seas, Liquid Robotics, and Right Ship!

Fans of the semi-finalists were also invited to pick their choice via online voting. ONC’s entry, Community Fishers, topped the chart of the Ocean Innovation Challenge “social edition,” earning an invitation to the World Ocean Summit in Lisbon as a delegate with VIP privileges.

Community Fishers is an easy-to-use mobile app for tablets, developed in partnership with the Pacific Salmon Foundation and scientists at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. With citizen scientists in mind, the app enables easy access to high quality continuous data on water properties that will help researchers better understand fish habitat, and the changes that may be impacting their environment over time.

ONC president and CEO Kate Moran believes the app has the potential to greatly increase the volume of ocean data essential for responsible ocean management. “I am simply thrilled that ONC could exercise its ocean innovation muscle to help fill this gap in technology. And I’d like to thank our colleagues and fans here in Victoria, across Canada and around the world, for their support of this new technology partnership.”