Spot the Alien / Alien Fish
from 01/06/2017 until 31/12/2100
The Spot the Alien and Spot the Alien Fish citizen science campaigns were launched in 2017. They aim to promote the submission of reports of Non-Indigenous Species (NIS) spotted within Maltese waters by citizen scientists. The Spot the Alien Fish campaign focuses only on non-indigenous fish species, while the Spot the Alien campaign focuses on all other non-indigenous species living within the marine environment.
Both campaigns are present on the Internet and through the various events in which the Oceanography Malta Research Group participates, including but not limited to Science in the City festivals, research expos, Blue Schools events and EU-funded project events. A prominent aspect of these campaigns is the complementary posters which are useful tools to hand out to the public (either at events or through post) to help with promoting the campaigns, with encouraging more citizens to submit reports, to increase awareness about the problem of NIS and the importance of taking records, and to help citizen scientists identify some of the marine NIS that they might encounter. Both campaigns are providing an unparalleled contribution to Malta’s international NIS monitoring obligations as well as NIS scientific monitoring efforts and have resulted in significant amounts of data, most of which have led to a number of peer- reviewed publications.
This campaign is supported financially by the International Ocean Institute (IOI) through annual grants.
Aim
The Spot the Alien Fish and Spot the Alien campaigns aim to increase awareness about the changing biodiversity in the marine environment around the Maltese Islands. They also aim to educate fishers, both professional and hobbyists, about the new species they are likely to encounter, and the challenges that they present.
Needed equipment
Access to the Internet is required in order to submit a report. Use of a camera, preferably one capable of being used underwater, is advisable, to include an image with the report.
Created Jan. 28, 2025, 3:20 p.m.
Updated Jan. 29, 2025, 3:21 p.m.
Keywords
Science Topics
Difficulty Level
Participation tasks
Coordinator
