Chris is the CTO for Vericatch. Chris has over 30 years of development experience working in high-tech. He has lived and worked in the US, China, and Canada as a high-tech leader.

Chris enjoys building and leading world class development teams and working with start-ups to develop their core Intellectual Property.

Melissa is the CEO of Working Ocean Strategies, a consulting firm dedicated to fostering social, environmental, and economic sustainability in the ocean space. She is a marine biologist with >15 years of experience at the intersection of coastal communities, cutting edge technologies, and data management efforts that cultivate sustainability across the triple bottom line. Prior to Working Ocean Strategies, Melissa helped to found an impact-focused technology company in 2014, Pelagic Data Systems (PDS), and served as the COO and Chief Scientist for 6 years to build PDS into an internationally trusted and acclaimed solution provider for the small-scale fishery sector.

Ai.Fish was formed to bring the latest in artificial intelligence research to problems in marine sustainability and conservation. The company is based on Oahu, where its founders built the world’s leading CAD/CAM software company for surfboard manufacturing. The team is excited to now bring their passion for the ocean, connection to the local community, and deep technical expertise to fisheries Electronic Monitoring.

Ai.Fish’s current focus is a computer vision platform which utilizes advanced artificial intelligence to speed up the most time-consuming parts of the Electronic Monitoring review process. Our platform automatically detects catch events from video and sensor data, greatly reducing the amount of footage requiring review, and assists reviewers with suggestions from species classification algorithms. We are actively performing R&D in computer vision and machine learning, and are exploring other areas where AI can further assist the EM review process.

We know there is no one-size-fits-all solution for Electronic Monitoring, and we believe state-of-the-art research can only have impact if it is brought to market through a user and stakeholder focus. We offer custom-built technology to fit the unique requirements of each fishery, and work with stakeholders to match the pace of EM’s adoption. Please contact us to learn more about what we can do for you.

Jimmy Freese is Co-Founder and CEO of Ai.Fish. Ai.Fish uses the latest in artificial intelligence and computer vision research to develop software tools that enhance EM. Jimmy has a background in computational engineering, previous startup experience and leads all business direction at Ai.Fish. Jimmy was born and raised on Oahu and spends nearly every day in the ocean either surfing, fishing or swimming. This passion for the ocean inspired him to found Ai.Fish, bringing advanced computational technologies to EM.

George Lapointe is a Marine Fisheries and Ocean Planning consultant serving clients in fishing industry, government, and non-government organizations.  He has over 30 years of experience in marine fisheries management, including serving as Commissioner of Marine Resources in Maine and Director of Interstate Fisheries at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.  The organizer of the the 2^nd National Workshop on Electronic Monitoring, George currently serves as a Core Team member of the Net Gains Alliance, which promotes modernization of fisheries data management systems and increased access to fisheries data. He is also promoting improved electronic reporting in the for-hire sector. Other work has included stakeholder engagement on fisheries allocation, review of NGO website utility, and ground-truthing ocean use map products.

Mark Michelin is a Director at CEA Consulting focused on strategic planning for foundations and nonprofits in the climate, energy, and marine conservation sector. Mark is the lead technical consultant at CEA and has led a range of analyses including developing emissions and mitigation models for the cooling sector, methane digesters in the agriculture sector, and ocean/climate interventions. Mark was the lead author of the 2018 report, “Catalyzing the Growth of Electronic Monitoring in Fisheries” and a contributing author of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy’s 2019 report, “The Ocean as a Solution to Climate Change.” Over his decade plus tenure at CEA, Mark has led numerous strategic planning and research efforts for clients including the Kigali Cooling Energy Project, Rare, ClimateWorks, TNC, and the Packard Foundation.