Tracking Global Fishing with Open Data — Lisa Tossey
About Lisa Tossey
Lisa Tossey is a storyteller and communications specialist. Lisa works as a communications specialist for Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit that uses cutting edge technology to transform data into information that encourages fair and sustainable use of ocean resources. Lisa feels very fortunate to be working with a creative and resourceful team. They provide an interface for the public to be able to assess complex data in a digestible and engaging way. They also present data for journalists in a way they can go in and look at complicated aspects related to issues related to fishing on the high seas. Global Fishing Watch's goals may be ambitious but the team are able to accomplish them due to the incredible people on the team. In addition to managing the team, Lisa is also an artist in her own right. She has a scientific eye in contrast to her spouse whose eye gauges the world less so. Lisa says “our brains approach the same things very differently but it makes for a really good balance.”
How Technology and Visual Storytelling Are Transforming Ocean Management
Lisa discusses the origin story for Global Fishing Watch and what the non-profit organizations does. She says that the organization aims to monitor and visualize impact of ocean going vessels, industrial and smaller scale vessels, the vast majority responsible for global seafood catch. By monitoring and visualizing those vessels, it helps to enable scientific research and drive transformation of how we manage the ocean. So it's driven by technology but connected to people's everyday lives. Lisa manages the team whose work is to take the data and transform them into stories so people can connect complex topics with their lives. We're doing that through visual storytelling, using video and scrollytelling immersive rich visual stories to showcase the beautiful, gorgeous state of visualizations and being able to illustrate some key stats and provide context for the work in the visual way that draws people in.
Lisa says water is her happy place, and particularly the ocean. She grew up near the Atlantic and never lasted more than a year or two living away from the coast. Trained as a scientist Lisa sees a randomness to nature that helps her break out of the more rigid thinking of a scientific mindset. To help combat stress, Lisa suggests it's important to embrace creative pursuits that give you joy, that make you really feel good, whether it's poetry, photography, ceramics.
Environmental anxiety can be scary and frustrating and overwhelming at times. “We're facing some huge challenges, but I also think there's a lot of reasons to have hope.” Lisa has the utmost respect and faith in the younger generations for their energy and focus on tackling these issues. “They're making their voices be heard, and I think we really need to do all that we can to amplify their voices and continue to support them in any way possible because it's their future at stake. And we're all part of the cause.”
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00:00:02 Pam Ferris-Olson Today on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com, I'm speaking with Lisa Tossey, a storyteller and communications specialist. Lisa currently works as communications manager for Global Fishing Watch, a nonprofit that uses cutting edge technology to transform data into information that encourages fair and sustainable use of ocean resources.
The Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast on womenmindthewater.com engages artists in conversation about their work and explores their connection to the ocean. Through their stories Wo(men) Mind the Water hopes to inspire and encourage action to protect the ocean and her creatures.
Today, I'm speaking with Lisa Tossey an accomplished multimedia communicator who uses art and technology to explore the work of ocean-oriented organizations and make their complex work understandable and engaging for the public. Lisa is currently communications manager for Global Fishing Watch, a global nonprofit that was featured in the Ocean, no excuse me, was featured in the Outlaw Ocean, a riveting podcast by a Pulitzer Prize winner and former New York Times journalist.
00:01:27 Global Fishing Watch focuses on overfishing and illicit fishing on the high seas; facts that have created a modern day Tragedy of the Commons. Welcome, Lisa. I'm really happy to have you on the Wo(men) Mind the Water podcast. I think the work that you and global fishing watch do is extremely important.
Why don't we begin by discussing Global Fishing Watch? Lisa, what is the origin story for Global Fishing Watch?
00:02:01 Lisa Tossey Thanks so much. I'm so happy to be here chatting with you today.
Global Fishing Watch is a global nonprofit. As you mentioned, that was founded nearly a decade ago and it was started as a collaboration between three partners. Those partners are Oceana an international ocean conservation organization. The second is Sky Truth. Sky Truth is a tech firm that uses satellite imagery and data to protect the environment. And then Google. We all know Google. Google's part in the project was they provided the tools and the contributions to help process big data which is key to our work. So that was 2015. And then in 2016, it was officially launched at the R Ocean Conference, which is a large conference hosted by the US State Department. Then by 2017, Global Fishing Watch was established as an independent international nonprofit organization. We've continued to grow since then.
00:03:10 Lisa Tossey We now have over a 100 members on our team who are globally distributed in 30 countries around the world. We're all remote organizations. So where we can find us basically is almost on every continent.
00:03:27 Pam Ferris-Olson I never imagined. So tell us more about the work that global Fishing Watch does.
00:03:34 Lisa Tossey So the main mission of our work is to advance ocean governance through increased transparency of human activity at sea. And we're doing that using advanced technology. I mentioned the big data we're turning that big data into actionable information; information that we share publicly for free to both accelerate science and drive policies and practices that reward good behavior, as well as protecting really key aspects related to the ocean, like biodiversity and fisheries and the livelihoods of everyone that has work related to the ocean.
00:04:14 Lisa Tossey One of our big goals is our 20-30. We aim to monitor and visualize impact of ocean going vessels, that's both industrial and smaller scale vessels, that are responsible for the vast majority of the global seafood catch and by monitoring and visualizing those vessels, it helps to enable scientific research and drive transformation of how we manage the ocean. So it's truly global and driven by technology but connected to kind of people's everyday lives and work and the fisheries of the oceans.
00:05:02 Pam Ferris-Olson Wow. Between the membership and the data that you're collecting, these are huge parcels of data. It's overwhelming to me. So what is the greatest challenge facing Global Fishing Watch?
00:05:19 Lisa Tossey You basically said it. It's very ambitious. The ambition is huge. The goals are huge. When I first came on and was trying to wrap my mind around the work and all that's involved. In not only processing and understanding this data but then making it available in a usable format for all to use. It just seemed a huge, huge thing to try to do but we have. I have to say that I have the most extremely talented, innovative team that I've ever worked with. I have every faith in them being able to help us reach those.
00:06:11 Lisa Tossey We've recently expanded our work to illuminate all industrial human activity at sea so even larger than fishing. Looking at all industrial activity and make that available really to the world as part of our latest work is going to be transformative.
00:06:30 Lisa Tossey I'm part of the communications team. I feel very fortunate to be on that aspect of the work because I get to kind of touch on all the various parts of the work that's related the scientific research, the innovation, the analysis, and the product work that provides kind of the interface for the public to be able to access and the data for journalists to be able to go in and look at a particular aspect. So I'm constantly learning about all the intricacies of the work, how it's being done and the impact that it's having, which kind of makes me constantly in awe of what's being accomplished. So while the goals may be ambitious, I see us being able to reach them due to the incredible people I work with.
00:07:25 Pam Ferris-Olson With the enormity of the data, how do you go about creating and engaging a relevant story about fishing activities or other activities in the marine environment that can be easily digested by nonscientific folks?
00:07:42Lisa Tossey Connecting complex topics back to people's everyday lives can be really important to help them understand. You know, how does this affect me or what is the impact on my life? So being able to kind of pull some key details or information, whether it be about, you know, the impact of the seafood they like to eat or a particular region that we're focusing on can be very helpful in making that connection. In science communication, a lot of my work has been related to scientific research and breaking down some really complex research and making it understandable to the public. Taking some of those key research findings and breaking them down in a very engaging understandable way, I think, can make the science a lot more approachable. That's one thing that we're striving to do at Global Fishing Watch right now.
00:08:45 Lisa Tossey We're doing that through visual storytelling, using video and scrollytelling immersive rich visual stories to showcase the beautiful, gorgeous state of visualizations and being able to illustrate some key stats and provide context for the work in the visual way that draws people in and gives them that key information that makes them, I don't know, not connect to the work but want to share the information that they found.
00:09:29 Pam Ferris-Olson I looked at two of the videos that you had up and I wondered where do you get the video material of these boats at sea?
00:09:38 Lisa Tossey Some of the on-site photography and videography we're able to do through our communications team and others we get through partners. We work with a lot of partners in different regions and then for some of the further field, when we're looking at global scope or from satellite, we can work with like NASA. They have a lot of their visuals available for use or through stock when we need.
00:10:13 Pam Ferris-Olson Well, let's turn to your story now. I notice that your focus has always been water. You've been involved with the Chesapeake Quarterly, the National Marine Educators Association, the Delaware Sea Grant College program, and I'm sure many more. So why have you chosen to focus on water?
00:10:32 Lisa Tossey Water is my happy place, and particularly the ocean. I grew up near the Atlantic in my younger years. I've moved inland several times and have tried different places further inland by lakes, by rivers, Pittsburgh with the Three Rivers, down in North Carolina near some lakes, and it's never been quite the same. I've always kind of boomeranged back out to the coast. It's just I've never lasted more than a year or two away from the coast.
00:11:03 Pam Ferris-Olson Does your work at Global Fishing Watch inform your own personal artistic process? I know that you're a photographer and I've seen your art page; we'll have a link to that on your page on womeninthewater.com. So how is your knowledge about the state of the ocean reflected in your artwork?
00:11:25 Lisa Tossey On the scientific side, I want to capture things exactly as they are and kind of that specificity. But the more time I spend out there, it helps me break out of that and kind of think in a more creative way and kind of embrace the more randomness of ways not coming in at a perfect rhythm or set, or how clouds can break up the sunrise. There's definitely more of a randomness to nature that helps me break out of the more rigid thinking of a scientific mindset.
00:12:02 Pam Ferris-Olson So I was trained as a scientist and it's been really interesting to talk to the different artivists because some of them are more literal in their translations and some of them it's like it's very abstract and yet I get it. And so I'm very appreciative of it. I know when I started on this journey doing the podcast all of a sudden I had animals clamoring, telling me in my ear what their problems were. So I created this series of marine animals and their images are very graphic and engaging and ironic. And then there are just different parts of the pictures that refer to issues, like I have a killer whale wearing a Beat headset referring to all the noise in the ocean, and it has a big necklace, bling, that has this little shriveled up…
00:13:11 Lisa Tossey I love it.
00:13:14 Pam Ferris-Olson …salmon not trout, referring to the fact that the food that it depends on is actually having its own feeding problems. And then the necklace is made out of the rings, that now they don't use anymore thank goodness, to hold soda cans together. So it's a whole range. So I get what you say that you know it's very hard as somebody who's got an artistic bent to break out of that scientific…
00:13:32 Lisa Tossey that analytical mindset.
00:13:46 Pam Ferris-Olson Yes, yes.
00:13:47 Lisa Tossey And I see it particularly because my husband is like an artist through and through. I'm very kind of the analytical creative. So if we're both out on the beach, I'll see something and I'll be thinking about the scientific name. I'll be thinking about, oh, yeah, the swimmer legs use it have dysfunction or he'll be looking at like a pattern of scales or like a coloration, looking at it as an artist. So I think I'm kind of more in like the scientific illustrator type mindset, very specific and having everything correct. He's in a much more creative place where he'll do something more like you just mentioned or draw like a really cool illustration of a crab. Then you know I’ll ask about the number of legs or the color of the claws and he'll be like “Start start!” So our brains approach the same things very differently but it makes for a really good balance.
00:14:46 Pam Ferris-Olson People, some people love abstract art, and some people don't get it.
If you're trying to do your art to convey a message, either because you want to inform someone or because you have something you need to get out, you have to do that in a way that works for you or the people that you're trying to reach. We all digest the material differently.
00:15:14 Lisa Tossey Yeah, absolutely. That’s what makes it all so unique. And I love seeing others, perspectives and interpretations of similar things, because we all approach things very differently.
00:15:28 Pam Ferris-Olson Very differently. So as an artist and a communicator, what advice do you have on how we should communicate our feelings about the ocean?
00:15:38 Lisa Tossey Yeah. From a creative standpoint, because feelings can be such a personal thing and people have different comfort levels with sharing, you know, feelings publicly. I think from a creative perspective first and foremost it's important to embrace kind of the creative pursuits that give you joy, that that make you really feel good, whether it's poetry, photography, ceramics. Look, one scientist who was very creative person that would crochet marine organisms. That's kind of their outlet and it helped kind of get their creative juices flowing and focusing on what you enjoy versus what you might think others want. I think it's more personally fulfilling. I've worked with some frustrated creatives that, you know, produce a bunch of things that they think that others may want to buy or see and not kind of what brought them joy. And it's a different process. So having that outlet to express yourself authentically, it is key, even if you're just doing it for yourself. But if you're opening, if you're open to sharing that work and that perspective of others, I think that joy or passion will shine through no matter what type of work you're doing, whether you know it's written, work or visual work. If that makes sense.
00:17:15 Pam Ferris-Olson So let's look at the other side of the coin. I recently posted an interview, actually with my 80th guest, bestselling author Wallace J Nichols. He was working with young ocean activists before his untimely death. J was concerned that young people are dispirited by climate change anxiety and he came to believe that his job and that of all adults is to support young people rather than feeding into their anxiety. How do you manage stress?
00:17:49 Lisa Tossey The stress of knowing all that's coming [speaker laughs]. It's always present. It can be scary and frustrating and overwhelming at times. We're facing some huge challenges, but I also think there's a lot of reasons to have hope. I have over the past few decades have worked with a lot of really brilliant people that are focused on facing these impacts and finding solutions. I have the utmost respect and kind of faith in the coming generations for their energy and focus on tackling these issues as well. I've worked with a lot of students through education and outreach work and at universities. They're bright, focused. They're making their voices be heard, and I think we really need to do all that we can to amplify their voices and continue to support them in any way possible because it's their future at stake. And we're all part of the cause. So we need to help them in any way we can and also lift up the positive stories and make sure it's not all doom and gloom and get the winds out there, as well as to help kind of feel that hope and the energy they have to find a solution.
00:19:28 Lisa Tossey I have 4 nieces and nephews that are all in their 20s and I worry like crazy about their future, but at the same time I see their energy and their focus and that of their friends. And they give me, they give me a lot of hope.
00:19:49 Pam Ferris-Olson So what do you think is the most impactful thing that an artist can do to share the current state of the environment with others?
00:19:57 Lisa Tossey I think the most impactful thing, not only in the state of the environment, but I think for any artist, is to be able to share their unique perspectives. We all come from different backgrounds and different life experiences, and it's always fascinating for me to see how subjects can be examined through different lenses, how writers and artists might approach different topics and themes. Because there's a lot we can learn from those varying viewpoints and those creative expressions. To broaden our own understanding and our own outlooks. I think. I'm very fortunate here. I'm in a little town called Berlin MD near the Atlantic Coast. That’s one of the Maryland state, I forget exactly, it's artistic community. We live in a very vibrant and supportive arts community which inspires me every day. And but there's also a large focus on the environmental aspect of where we live and how key it is to preserve it. We've got some beautiful national seashore near us. It's a really unique place and a lot of the artists and creatives focus on that in their work and I find it hugely inspiring.
00:21:33 Pam Ferris-Olson Well, you're very lucky and I feel lucky that we've had you on the podcast and I'm grateful for you for being here. You've given us much to think about. I'd like to remind listeners that I've been speaking with Lisa Tossey, an artivist who's working encourages fair and sustainable use of ocean resources. Lisa is the latest guest on the Wo(men) Mind the Water Artivist Series podcast. The series can be viewed on womenmidwater.com, Museum on Main Street, and YouTube. An audio-only version of the podcast is available on womenmindthewater.com, on iTunes and Spotify. Wo(men) Mind the Water is grateful to Jaine Rice for the use of her song Women of Water. All rights for the Wo(men) Mind the Water name and logo belong to Pam Ferris-Olson. This is Pam Ferris-Olson.
