SDG14: Life below water
Why it matters
The industry’s contribution
Mobile technology plays a crucial role in advancing SDG 14 by providing technical platforms that serve as channels for capturing and accessing information. As these platforms continue to expand, the mobile industry’s contribution to SDG 14 has grown. Notably, IoT solutions have gained momentum in various markets, supporting the management of coastal marine ecosystems, including fisheries.
These solutions offer a cost-effective means of monitoring biodiversity, especially for small island developing states, least developed states and artisanal fisheries. Additionally, mobile technologies have the potential to make a significant impact on addressing ocean pollution, protecting marine species and promoting conservation initiatives. For example, the mobile industry can help combat poaching activities and safeguard critical marine habitats by supporting the deployment of connected drones.
There was a slight decrease in the SDG 14 mobile impact score in 2022, which can primarily be attributed to a reduction in the number of people in rural areas utilising mobile devices for tasks such as obtaining information about products and services. It is vital to grow such mobile usage among fishing communities, ensuring they have access to critical information with a short lifespan, such as market prices, that can greatly impact their livelihoods.
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Maximising mobile’s impact by 2030
Increasing access and affordability of connectivity in the most remote locations will be crucial to maximising mobile’s contribution to SDG 14. This remains a challenge, as GSM networks are still underrepresented in remote locations (e.g. artisanal fishing communities), where mobile solutions can play a significant role in providing essential information.
Case Studies
eFishery and Telkomsel collaborate on smart fisheries
With annual aquaculture production of more than 5 million metric tons, Indonesia has the third-largest aquaculture output globally, behind only China and India.[56] While this output is significant, Indonesia’s aquaculture sector has yet to reach its full potential. Over 80% of the country’s 3.3 million aquaculture fishers and fish farmers still use manual methods. [57]
eFishery is a smart livestock management startup based in Indonesia that has developed an automatic fish feeder using NB-IoT technology from Telkomsel. It schedules fish feeding times, checks on water quality and monitors fish behaviour.
eFishery was supported by a grant from the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund to extend its value proposition to fish and shrimp farmers by adding more features to its product offerings, including a farm management feature and a financing dashboard that will connect farmers to financial institutions.
eFishery’s solution offers several benefits to farmers and the environment: it lowers the risk of overfeeding, reduces water pollution and enables farmers to stay updated on the fish’s condition wherever they are. The company has deployed thousands of feeders to serve more than 30,000 fish and shrimp farmers in Indonesia. It is aiming to have more than 1 million members of its ‘digital cooperative’ globally by 2025. [58]
56 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, FAO, 2022
57 The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, FAO, 2018
58 “Indonesia’s eFishery raises another USD 108 million, valuation surpasses USD 1 billion”, SeafoodSource, June 2023
