Coastline monitoring has historically relied on research vessels with expert staff, both of which are commonly in short supply and are expensive. These factors can result in samples taken only a few times a year in spot locations.

In response to this challenge, Ocean Networks Canada (ONC)—an initiative of the University of Victoria—developed Community Fishers, an advanced solution using state‐of‐the‐art technology that provides a practical, user‐friendly tool for collecting data from mobile scientific instruments which can then be managed and freely accessed via ONC’s world‐leading oceanographic data management system, Oceans 2.0.

Consisting of a simple, easy‐to‐use, mobile application that connects wirelessly to a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) instrument and additional sensors, Community Fishers enables an organization or community to take advantage of all Vessels of Opportunity, allowing for more flexible, frequent, and locally relevant sampling of water properties without the cost or requirement of having to utilize specialized research vessels and scientific staff.