Back in 2017, I wrote about a good photo manual for fisheries enforcement that my friends Per Erik Bergh from the Stop Illegal Fishing team and Duncan Copeland from Trigg Mat Tracking (TMT) produced as part of their support to FISH-i Africa and West Africa Task Force.
So I was more than happy when TMO enlisted my friend, Gilles Hosch, to work on a complement of that document for my friends at FFA, to support FFA/PMSP Aerial Surveillance Standard Operating Procedures.
This killer picture is from FFA’s LinkedIn page and shows as US Navy P-8 Poseidon conducting inflight refuelling in support of surveillance operations during FFA regional operation Rai Balang.
Needless to say, the importance of aerial surveillance was rump up during these COVID times! So this manual is a great addition! I wasn’t directly involved (other than providing some pictures), yet I’m working with TMT on a bigger set of publications that I will talk about once they are done. I like working for them… professional… yet relaxed!
The manual is intended to support evidence collection efforts in fisheries law enforcement, with a focus on photography and the understanding and the skills needed to handle camera equipment confidently. The aim is to foster the ability of inspectors to consistently snap photographs that can fulfil their purpose.
Photographs taken from patrol aircraft can have several purposes. Two key uses are to assist in the visual identification of fishing vessels when remote identification through AIS, VMS or radar is not possible, and to collect evidence of illegal activities and operations in support of legal proceedings.
Since the advent of mobile phones equipped with photo camera functions, photography has come into reach of a very wide cross-section of the population.
As a result, many people today have a better sense of how to snap a picture – and how to avoid common pitfalls messing up shots – but it can leave people with a false sense of knowing enough about photography to do a professional photographer’s job.
The world of fishery law enforcement abounds with shockingly poor photographs snapped from aircraft, that – even though shot from a distance of a hundred meters or less – have led to material that was insufficient to identify the vessel, much less able to be used in a court of law as evidence to support a prosecution. This manual sets out to minimize those instances, ensuring that money invested in air patrols is not wasted on substandard camera handling skills resulting in poor photos.
Check it out and download it from here