Kingfisher are a team within Seafish (the Sea Fish Industry Authority), tasked with improving safety in the fishing industry. Since the 1990s, they’ve worked tirelessly to keep fishermen informed of potential hazards at sea. Seafish is a UK Non Departmental Public Body established by the Fisheries Act 1981.
We applied to tender for Kingfisher, who needed an agency to develop a complex geolocation system that would allow news of offshore activities and hazards to be collected, stored, managed and supplied to the fishing industry via a dedicated website alongside Android and iOS apps.
The initial goals were to streamline the internal processes, and to improve the delivery method / user access, using new, accessible technology. Our solution had to be easy to use, consistent and user friendly. It also needed to be GDPR compliant and highly extensible, as well as incorporating ESRI geolocation map data, which were integral to the system’s success.
We needed to consolidate, streamline and refine the current services provided by the Kingfisher Bulletin, for internal and external users – ultimately improving awareness of offshore hazards and industry safety.
We built a new website for the Kingfisher Bulletin, using a headless WordPress for the admin with a React front end, ensuring the site would be secure, scalable, flexible and user friendly.
This website offers the ability to search reports, and see the latest news. The website is also integrated with the ESRI ArcGIS API, displaying maps being regenerated in real time to highlight the latest hazard reports. It is fully GDPR compliant, AA accessible, easy to use and support user accounts and subscriptions. Users are able to view notices in real time, set up personalised alerts and access information on the go, especially via the native apps we built to complement the website’s functionality.
We also produced Kingfisher Bulletin apps for iOS and Google Play.
The apps were built using React Native, creating a unified interface across devices. They allow fishermen to keep informed on the move. They feature map based search functionality, illustrative search results and ability to personalise content. Importantly, users can use their Kingfisher application to search hazard information in real time, by keyword, location, sector or hazard type. Crucially, the information is available to view both on and offline in case of network outage or limited connectivity (for example, fishers at sea), via our integration with Esri ArcGIS IOS & Android SDKs.
See the resultThe new website and apps for Kingfisher Bulletin have been well received by the client, users and senior industry figures, including representatives from the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, BP North, and the Oil and Gas UK Fisheries. The service continues to improve fishing safety, prevent property damage and save lives.
Discuss your project“Following extensive testing with Fishermen’s Federations, offshore operators and others, the website and app is now live. This is a really exciting development. The new Bulletin is a valuable resource for fishermen across the UK and we are the only people currently offering a service like this. “I’d encourage both those who already accessed our printed materials and others who have not previously engaged with our services to download the app, visit the website and sign up for the new online alerts service.”
“I really like the hazard alerts function in the new online system. This will give fishermen more up to date information at their fingertips on areas chosen by them. It is very encouraging to see the Kingfisher Bulletins using advancements in technology to aid fishermen’s safety. These new platforms will give information out faster to the people who need it the most. In an ever changing, demanding world this can only be a good thing.”
“The new system provides a much easier process for submitting notifications and now means we can see these go live in a matter of minutes. This, alongside the automated reminders, will allow us to have greater control over any notifications and to keep information on our activities and any hazards to fishing up to date in a much more efficient manner.”
“Having just used this myself to make a hazard notification, I can confirm that the system is both easy and quick to use. It gets information to the users so quickly and is a significant step forward to ensuring fishermen are promptly notified of hazards, thus reducing risk and improving safety."
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