Despite the need to boost visitorship, the island’s governors want to provide whale-migration information that can guide ethical, responsible tourist activity
The humpback whale symbolizes the richness and diversity of Hachijo Island’s natural environment. Therefore, to support field trials to improve the understanding of humpback whale migration trends, the island’s governors have turned to AI image recognition technology to process video data from fixed-point cameras installed for disaster prevention purposes.
Hachijo Town has been working with the Mizuho Research & Technologies, Ltd., (which is also in partnership with the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology in this project), and Fujitsu Limited (provider of AI model construction and video data analysis solutions). The project, slated to take place between May and Oct 2024, marks an important milestone in efforts to make Hachijo Island a smart and sustainable island.
Using an AI model trained with the migration behavior patterns of humpback whales, the project group partners will analyze video data from multiple fixed point cameras on the island to verify the feasibility of detecting humpback whale movements. At the same time, the operational flow in utilizing the detection results — with a focus on specific ways to utilize them, such as informing tourists about the status humpback whale migration, “is being considered”.
Ecological surveys of the whales’ movements used to be done manually. Now, with AI technology to automate and improve detection accuracy, the project group can improve biodiversity conservation, and also provide timely information about the status of humpback whale migration. In turn, this information can be used to schedule yearly tourist events in sync with the local natural environment. This synchronization of human activities with nature also improves tourism ethics in an era where “overtourism” can be a problem. The ultimate aim of the project is to improve bio-conservation while allowing for residents and visitors alike to enjoy Hachijo Island’s precious natural resources in accordance with the framework of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s “Tokyo Treasure Island Sustainable Island Creation Project”.
