At Sea Watch, we collect sightings data from a variety of sources, including our online sightings form, the Sea Watch app, emails, and separate datasets that we either produce ourselves or receive from others. Managing these diverse datasets efficiently is crucial for ensuring their accuracy, accessibility, and usefulness for conservation and research.
Over the last year, we’ve been working hard to collate all these databases into a single, centralised system. This has required updates to our online submission page so that sightings can feed directly into the new data management system. Additionally, we’ve introduced a new ‘recent sightings’ page that displays sightings from all platforms, not just those submitted via the website. This means data from the app and other formats are now visible in one place.
The updated web submission page includes new features to make it easier to submit and manage sightings:
- Choose which name to display (or remain anonymous).
- Simple time and date selection.
- Click directly on a map to select coordinates, with zoom functionality.
- Expanded dropdown species list (including various shark species).
- New fields for minimum and maximum counts of juveniles and calves.
The recent sightings page will also feature a map view where you can click on locations or filter by region, with an option to view all sightings. Some sightings may show a blue triangle, indicating they’re awaiting verification by our team—just like before; this will happen in due course. Importantly, unverified sightings are now visible immediately rather than being hidden until verified.
We are now working on an enhanced map viewer where you can explore sightings by species, date, and other filters and plot these on maps. We hope to launch this facility early in the New Year.
Thank you for your patience and support as we make these exciting improvements!
