Why the Internet's Going Wild For a 'Fish Doorbell' 42
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Guardian: Something fishy is happening in the Netherlands and viewers worldwide are hooked. No, this isn't the latest voyeuristic reality series from the creators of Big Brother and The Traitors. It's a charmingly innocent live stream which lets you ring a doorbell on behalf of some frisky fish. For the past three migration seasons, an online feed has broadcast live footage from an underwater camera at a lock to the west of Utrecht. Every spring, thousands of fish swish through the Netherlands' fourth-largest city, seeking shallow waters in which to lay their eggs. Some swim all the way to Germany, like piscine Adam Peatys. Slight snag: they often have to wait at the Weerdsluis lock, which seldom opens at this time of year.
Local ecologists came up with an ingenious solution: the world's first fish doorbell or visdeurbel in Dutch (try saying it out loud). If webcam watchers spot fish waiting to pass, they simply press a virtual doorbell and the lock keeper -- who can't see down into the water, which is 2.1 metres (7ft) deep, from dry land -- is sent a notification. When enough fish have gathered, the operator opens the 200-year-old sluice gate by hand to let them through. It enables professionals and the public to work together around the clock, ensuring fish don't have to wait too long. Like a marine midwife or damp doula, you can help them reach their spawning sites unscathed. It means they're less likely to fall victim to predators such as herons, cormorants and grebes (boo! baddies!).
The project is a collaboration between water authorities and the municipality of Utrecht as fish are a vital part of the ecosystem, eating insects and maintaining the cleanliness of canals. It also provides data about the plentiful wildlife beneath the serene surface of the city's waterways. No wonder visitors are logging on to lend a hand, waving through 2,000 fish a week. Politely holding a door open for our scaly pals -- who lack the opposable fins to do it themselves -- is a feelgood act of kindness. The green-tinged live feed is like a calming version of that giant puddle in Newcastle or an eco equivalent of Big Jet TV. It's wholesome, interactive and addictive, akin to a soggy Springwatch or a low-budget Blue Planet. "In spring 2021, the doorbell was rung more than 100,000 times by punters as far afield as Canada and Taiwan," notes the report. "Thanks to its growing fanbase, this has been its best year yet, hitting one million unique users and 8.2 million visits in total."
Local ecologists came up with an ingenious solution: the world's first fish doorbell or visdeurbel in Dutch (try saying it out loud). If webcam watchers spot fish waiting to pass, they simply press a virtual doorbell and the lock keeper -- who can't see down into the water, which is 2.1 metres (7ft) deep, from dry land -- is sent a notification. When enough fish have gathered, the operator opens the 200-year-old sluice gate by hand to let them through. It enables professionals and the public to work together around the clock, ensuring fish don't have to wait too long. Like a marine midwife or damp doula, you can help them reach their spawning sites unscathed. It means they're less likely to fall victim to predators such as herons, cormorants and grebes (boo! baddies!).
The project is a collaboration between water authorities and the municipality of Utrecht as fish are a vital part of the ecosystem, eating insects and maintaining the cleanliness of canals. It also provides data about the plentiful wildlife beneath the serene surface of the city's waterways. No wonder visitors are logging on to lend a hand, waving through 2,000 fish a week. Politely holding a door open for our scaly pals -- who lack the opposable fins to do it themselves -- is a feelgood act of kindness. The green-tinged live feed is like a calming version of that giant puddle in Newcastle or an eco equivalent of Big Jet TV. It's wholesome, interactive and addictive, akin to a soggy Springwatch or a low-budget Blue Planet. "In spring 2021, the doorbell was rung more than 100,000 times by punters as far afield as Canada and Taiwan," notes the report. "Thanks to its growing fanbase, this has been its best year yet, hitting one million unique users and 8.2 million visits in total."
Kalakalle (Score:3)
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Wow, never saw that before. Account_deleted? Or is this just a clever troll?
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Re:rsilvergun removed (Score:1)
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Uh... it's turned off...tomorrow? (Score:5, Informative)
At the bottom of the article:
"This year’s migration season ends on Friday, when the camera will be switched off until March."
That's... pretty much any moment now in Europe. Good uh, catch, Slashdot.
sigh.
technology (Score:5, Insightful)
An amazing assortment of Internet, smart homes, phone apps, and the phenomenon of crowdsourcing.
In the old days, we would have just put in a feed from the camera (that's already there) to the lock-keeper.
My only question is: Why didn't they use blockchain in there somehow?
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Great, now we've got belletje trekken [*] via the Internet.
[*] For non-Dutch speakers, this translates into Afrikaans as 'tok-tokkie'. You're welcome.
Already over before the trolls can join in (Score:2)
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They've been doing this for years now and it's been a sensation every year (even if Slashdot is ludicrously late to the party). The trolls aren't an issue.
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Ironically, I was expecting "So long and thanks for all the fish."
And then ... (Score:4, Funny)
If webcam watchers spot fish waiting to pass, they simply press a virtual doorbell and the lock keeper ... is sent a notification. ...
In spring 2021, the doorbell was rung more than 100,000 times by punters as far afield as Canada and Taiwan," notes the report. "Thanks to its growing fanbase, this has been its best year yet, hitting one million unique users and 8.2 million visits in total.
The lock keeper went insane, ranting something about The Bells [poets.org], the bells.
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The keeper only gets called when there's a large number of reports signaling fish at the door :).
Let me guess (Score:4, Funny)
Next up: fishermen pay Amazon to access footage of the underwater Ring.
Dutch is a silly sounding language (Score:5, Funny)
But "fish doorbell" and "visdeurbel" are phonetically incredibly similar and any English person will have no problem saying it out loud. Like seriously The Guardian, wtf.
Whoosh! (Score:2)
Isn't that the point they're making?
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No. I honestly don't know how you could interpret that statement that way.
Re: Dutch is a silly sounding language (Score:2)
saying it out loud (Score:1)
visdeurbel in Dutch (try saying it out loud)
Well, as a matter of fact it is quite easy to get close enough to a native Dutch pronunciation.
visdeurbel: that is the same v as in vision and venom
visdeurbel: almost like is, but shorter like in business
visdeurbel: like the d in door and daft
visdeurbel: a bit like Europe, but without the j-sound at the start; keep the r-sound short
visdeurbel: like bell, but with a short sounding l.
"The Internet"? (Score:2)
Has anyone here heard of this before?
Because, well, I guess I'm not "the internet" anymore.
silly (Score:2)
This could be automated with a day worth of work
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The Dutch have a few centuries of experience with managing water, why automate with the potential of something going wrong?
Quite a lot of people seem to like watching a few minutes each, displaying some attention to nature, and it's engagement of the public from the view of the water authorities and the municipality of Utrecht.
A perfect application for AI (Score:2)
Re:A perfect application for AI (Score:4)
...and the lock keeper -- who can't see down into the water....
This is also the perfect application for an underwater camera Internet feed into the lock keeper's quarters. If only we had such technology. Oh well, I'll keep dreaming.
Re: A perfect application for AI (Score:2)
Exactly what I was thinking. Saw the article, and immediately thought "why the hell doesn't the gatekeeper have a monitor showing what the cameras are showing?" Them he could decide when to open the gates without needing any notifications from other people.
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And here I was expecting (Score:2)
that somebody had hooked up a Big Mouth Billy Bass to their front door. My hopes are crushed.
Ring ring ring... (Score:1)
Lock keeper (Score:1)