Manatee Mobile Application

About the Program

Category: Information Technology (Best in Category)

Year: 2018

The ‘I Spy a Manatee’ is a cross platform native mobile application developed for Broward County residents and visitors. It provides an intuitive, easy way to report details about manatees and their activities. Data capturing features include an accurate GPS location, an address geocoding service, image capturing, and maps of manatee protection and boating safety zones. When reporting an injured or dead manatee, the app will allow the user to directly call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) to report the incident. User entries are reviewed for validity by members of the Environmental Protection and Community Resilience (EPCR) Division through an administration portal developed as a backend companion to the app. Submission of manatee sightings through the app automates the storing of information, which replaces the paper based process of reporting sightings. Broward County’s EPCR Division was the driving force to develop this app, with the intent to improve the accuracy and timeliness of the data and encourage more sightings to be reported. All this results in increased ability to justify support of the Manatee Protection Plan, and easier sharing with other interested groups as well as, educating the public. The app is available for download in the Google Play and Apple App stores.