Arduino Based Water Pollution and Dynamite Fishing

Alerting Device for Real-Time Monitoring

An Investigatory Project

Submitted by:
Kirstein Jillian D. Recto
Arabella Nicole Psychelendre Baran
Felmarey J. Guillen
Eunice Kyla U. Mapisa
10- Einstein

Submitted to:
Christian Erad
ICT Adviser
 Introduction

Over the centuries, researchers and professional have struggled to conserve the marine

biodiversity due to the continuous practice of destructive human activities and institutional

inaction. Several areas of the world are experiencing marine habitat loss mainly from manmade

stresses such as water pollution and dynamite fishing (National Geographic, 2021). According to

Munyi (2009), 70% of the fishermen uses destructive fishing methods over the past 18-35 years.

Major driving forces for the use of destructive fishing methods are; perceived efficiency of

destructive gears, availability of cheap but destructive gears in the market, declining catches and

desperation among the fishermen, passive acceptance of some destructive gears at localized

levels and low levels of education among the fishermen. Some of the destructive gears lead to

excessive bycatch and juvenile wastage thus threatening sustainability. On the other hand, nine

million of the Filipinos rely on unsafe water supplies. In fact, water pollution and a lack of

proper sewage kill 55 people in the Philippines every day (The Borgen Project, 2019). These

issue affects not only the Earth’s marine life but the health of the people who is experiencing it,

thus the immobilization of water pollution and dynamite fishing has taken on a new urgency.

In the Philippines, the country's resources in municipal waters are lightly to heavily

exploited and overfished. Mangrove resources have already been depleted, and both municipal

and commercial fisheries suffer from overfishing caused by an increase in the number of fishers

and open access to fisheries. Commercial fishing boats continue to operate in municipal waters,

causing resource users to clash. Destructive fishing methods (such as dynamite and cyanide
fishing, as well as the use of fine mesh net fishing gear) have aided in the rapid decline of fish

stocks and habitat degradation. Bycatch and discards in trawl and other fisheries have recently

been cited as a threat to the country's fisheries' long-term viability (Lamarca, 2018). Moreover, a

study published in the Philippine Journal of Science reports that reefs in the country’s territorial

waters are no longer in excellent condition, and that 90% are classified as either poor or fair. In

response, several measured were undertaken to cease the decimation in marine biodiversity of

the country but it has produced mixed results due to the absence of serious enforcement

measures (Garry, 2021).

Additionally, this study could help the economy and the marine life have a healthy and

safe environment. Furthermore, this could lead to further research and production of robotic

devices that could help reduce the water pollution and immobilize the destructive fishing

techniques to conserve the marine biodiversity.

 Methodology

Research Questions

This study seeks to answer the following questions:

a.) Is the Arduino based water pollution and dynamite fishing alerting device effective in

decreasing the water pollution and dynamite fishing in the marine biodiversity?

b.) Is there a significant difference between the application of the alerting device and

without the application of the alerting device in the marine ecosystem (oceans, rivers,

seas, etc.)?

General objectives

To further cease the issue, this study tries to invent a device that can aid the problem by

introducing an alerting device that can detect any signs of water pollution and dynamite fishing

and send the signal to coastal front liners.

Specific objectives:

Specifically, this study aims to:

1. To determine the effectiveness of Arduino-based water pollution and dynamite fishing

alerting devices effective in decreasing the water pollution and dynamite fishing in the

marine biodiversity.
 2. To determine if there is a significant difference between the application of the alerting

device and without the application of the alerting device in the marine ecosystem (oceans,

rivers, seas, etc.).

Hypothesis

Null Hypothesis

Arduino-based water pollution and dynamite fishing alerting device has no significant

effect in decreasing the water pollution and dynamite fishing in the marine biodiversity.

Alternative Hypothesis

Arduino-based water pollution and dynamite fishing alerting device has a significant

effect in decreasing the water pollution and dynamite fishing in the marine biodiversity.

Bibliography
Marine Habitat Destruction. (2021, May 3). National Geographic.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/critical-issues-marine-habitat-

destruction

Water Pollution in the Philippines. (2019, December 16). The Borgen Project.

https://borgenproject.org/water-pollution-in-the-philippines/

Munyi, F. (2015, November 6). The Social and Economic Dimensions of Destructive Fishing

Activities in the South coast of Kenya. AquaDocs. https://aquadocs.org/handle/1834/7801

Lamarca, N. (2018, June 26). Fisheries Country Profile: Philippines. SEAFDEC.

http://www.seafdec.org/fisheries-country-profile-philippines/

Licuanan, A. M., Reyes, M. Z., Luzon, K., & Chan, M. A. A. (2017, June). Initial Findings of

the Nationwide Assessment of Philippine Coral Reefs. Philippine Journal of Science

146(2):177–185. ResearchGate.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318451686_Initial_Findings_of_the_Nationwid

e_Assessment_of_Philippine_Coral_Reefs_Philippine_Journal_of_Science_1462177-185

Garry, H. (2021, March 19). The Philippines’ Marine Biodiversity Faces Decimation. Earth.Org

- Past | Present | Future. https://earth.org/marine-biodiversity-in-the-philippines-faces-

decimation/

Almendral, A. (2018, June 16). In the Philippines, Dynamite Fishing Decimates Entire Ocean

Food Chains. The New York Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/15/world/asia/philippines-dynamite-fishing-coral.html