Washington, DC - The U.S. Department of State announced today during the Our Ocean conference that the third annual Fishackathon will take place on Earth Day, from April 22-24, 2016.

Fishackathon is a public-private partnership that aims to capitalize on the expansion of mobile phone use across the developing world to address sustainable fishery challenges. The annual Fishackathon event calls on coders from all around the world to come together to create new applications and tools for use on mobile phones, devices, and other end-solutions, which can help fishers work smarter and more safely in sustainable fishing.

The Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships organized the inaugural Fishackathon around the Secretary’s Our Ocean conference in 2014. The 2014 Fishackathon took place at aquariums and tech hubs in five cities across the United States, and the 2015 event expanded to twelve cities around the world, including in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. The 2014 grand prize winners, Team KnowFish from Atlanta, are currently attending the Our Ocean conference in Chile.

The U.S. Department of State is also accepting submissions for problem statements for the volunteer coders to address at next year’s Fishackathon event. Interested parties can suggest a specific challenge concerning sustainable fishing through the Fishackathon website. Submissions are open now and will close on January 1, 2016.