Preventing IUU Fishing Using Sound Waves
Income Fish Co. (HGWA)

1. Executive Summary
SOREUS is a special buoy designed to both create andrestrict fishing areas. Much like regular buoys, it detects theheight of the waves and can be used as navigational
markers; this can also be used as a hazard warning,alerting fishermen to avoid specific areas.
What makes this buoy special, however, is two uniquefunctions: the ability to emit low-frequency sound waves anddetect unregistered vessels. These low-frequency sounds
are only heard by fish (lower than 160 to 200 Hz) that repels
them from a set area1. Utilizing this technology, fish arenotified through sound when unregistered vessels enter anillegal fishing area, which allows them to avoid beingcaught. This opposite is also true, in which the SOREUS
can emit higher frequencies which attract them instead2. In
addition, registered vessels are required to have GPS
signals that let countries know where they are at the sea3.
SOREUS has a motion sensor that, when not received withany GPS waves, activates low-frequencies that repels fishaway from the vessel.
2. Mission Statement
The purpose of this product is to manipulate themovement of fishes that promotes legal fishing anddiscourage IUU fishing. By placing SOREUS into illegal
fishing areas, fishes have an increased chance of not being
fished. Therefore, recognizing IUU fishing is not profitable,
the fishermen will return to registered areas thus reduce
cases of IUU fishing. IUU fishing is mainly caused by thegrowing demand for fish and having not enough fishes inthe legal fishing areas. SOREUS can also be used to attract
fishes inside legal fishing areas and allow fishermen to
nurture them and increase their population. This allows forthe increase in fish population inside legal areas andprevents fishermen from IUU fishing.

Figure 1. SOREUS
Figure 2. Inside SOREUS
3. Our Product
Our product is marketed towards fishermen and thegovernment. The SOREUS provides merit towards
fishermen because of its ability to attract fishes. Specifically,each buoy is equipped with a frequency generator that canemit both low and high frequencies. Since sound travels at
the sea depends on the sea salinity4, sea surface
temperature, and the landscape underwater5, calculating
the velocity of sound using the data of the aquaticconditions in the Indian Ocean we can find that the velocity
of sound is around 144.445～148.923 Hz6. Adding on to thefact that the waves are calm most of the time7, we can see
how the sounds do not affect the fish in a negative way. As
stated before, IUU is caused by two factors: the increase in
the demand for fish and the decrease in the population offish. 50% of the fish caught are discarded due to its lack insize or value and are considered as “unwanted fish”8.
SOREUS allows local fishermen to increase the numbers ofwanted fish in their area effectively, through feeding“unwanted fish” they caught.
SOREUS provides merit towards the government
because of its ability to repel fish in certain situations. IUUfishing is hard to prevent as fishermen have unregistered
vessels in order to avoid detection or focus on areas where
surveillance for registered vessels is poor. SOREUS, as all
normal buoys, is equipped with a GPS receiver9. Using this,the buoy is able to detect unregistered vessels and emit
low-frequency waves to prevent the vessel in question tocatch much fish. Cleverly combining multiple buoys, thegovernment will be able to restrict certain areas andmaintain tight security around necessary fishing grounds
without much supervision. SOREUS can be used as asecurity measure towards illegal fishing areas as it can
prevent fishermen to make a profit from fishing in theseareas and thus decrease IUU fishing.

41

https://prezi.com/iwdxfudtusjw/the-effects-of-sound-waveson-fish/2
https://biasproject.wordpress.com/news-from-the-ocean/fis
h-and-sound/3
http://www.fao.org/3/Y3554E/y3554e01.htm

https://smap.jpl.nasa.gov/news/1265/smap-sees-sea-surfa
ce-salinity/
5​https://www.britannica.com/place/Indian-Ocean
6​https://keisan.casio.jp/exec/system/1257837588
7
http://www.surfline.com/surfdata/chart_viewer/?chart=iowa
ve&id=2950
8
https://www.yokohama-maruuo.co.jp/food/今日は大漁！
選ってみたら未利用魚が大変だ。/20170914.html
9https://buoybay.noaa.gov/about/about-buoy-technology

4. Marketing Strategy
SOREUS will first be used in East African regions, where
one in four fish is still caught illegally, despite all efforts
made to reduce the number inside the country10.

Figure 3. Map of global IUU fishing incidence(Number of incriminated vessels 1980 - 2003)11
The figure above shows the number of incriminatedvessels in different areas. Since East Africa has the largest
number of illegal vessels, it is most efficient to start ourbusiness from this region to overcome IUU fishing on alarger scale. If the government installs such a system, itenables the country to prevent IUU fishing from othercountries, and also allows the country to protect its nationalinterest. Not only that but it enables local fishermen to catch
more fish because there are no more IUU and will create
profit.
Also, because it reuses "wasted fish" as food, it reduces
waste which is eco-friendly to the earth. The main target
audience of this product will be the government. In order toprove the efficiency of the system, we will create ademonstration video showing SOREUS operating andmanipulating the fish, and provide the number of increasing
profit the fish market can gain. As an appeal to thesecondary target audience; local fisherman, since Africa
has a low internet usage rate12, we will set up
advertisements on city walls if possible, and if not directly
speak to the local fishermen to show the effect on theincrease on fish gathered when taking in this technology.
5. FinanceInitially, our products will be tested in the Arabian sea
near the Somalian coast where IUU has been a problem(see Figure 3). The price will be $400 for municipalities due
to its dual system of sensing the entering of illegal boatsinto designated areas and letting fish escape. The price will
be $150 for local fishermen due to its simpler design; it will
be used to attract fish into one place. The testing period willcomprise of 6 units for municipalities and 40 units for local
fishermen.
Maintenance fees will occur in 3 month periods, this will
create sustainable profit over time. For maintenance, we will
be hiring technical employees who are specialized within its
category. The maintenance will be occurring every 310

https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustai
nability/african-countries-fighting-back-against-illegal-fishing11
https://www.ejiltalk.org/first-global-treaty-against-illegal-unr
eported-and-unregulated-iuu-fishing-enters-into-force/
12​https://www.internetworldstats.com/africa.htm

months, so the salary will be about $400 per maintenance.
The testing period will end with a cash balance of $430.
After the testing period is over, we will expand our market to
the whole entire coast of Somalia. After two and a halfyears, we will expand our product market to Indonesia
which also experiences IUU fishing problems. As weexpand our business, more countries will be our target
customers which will increase the revenue at an exponential
rate.

Figure 4: Table of finance
Figure 5: Cash Balance

Figure 6: Gradual expansion of market area
6. Funding
We will be funded by venture funders and NGOs that areinterested in our business. Considering that the initial cost
and the capital investment will be summing up to $13000,
the cost funded for backing us up will be approximately$14000. With this amount, we will be able to start ourbusiness with less tension. As gaining profit, we willproduce a dividend for shareholders being about 10% of ourtotal revenue.