Omakala Fishing Application

Triona has since the spring of 2021 been developing a mobile application for recreational fishing to Luke – the Natural Resources Institute in Finland. Just in time for the summer fishing season the application went live both in App Store and Google Play!

Omakala is targeted for recreational fishers throughout Finland and is free to use. Information regarding catches including species, location, measurements etc. is stored in a fishing logbook. As a fisher, you can plan your upcoming fishing trips, track your actual trip, and log your catches and other information with an easy-to-use application. Researchers and government agencies use the information in Omakala when planning for a sustainable fish stock over time. Privacy guaranteed, any data provided will not be given to any third parties, and all data used in research is anonymized before use.

Interest in the application has been encouraging, and Omakala has already been installed by thousands of recreational fishers. The application will be continually expanded with new functionality over the next few years where feedback from users is a major contributor to further development decisions.

The solution is based on modern agile development methods. Mobile applications for iOS and Android are developed in React Native and include map functionality implemented in OpenLayers. Backend services are developed on Microsoft Azure. Additionally, the service provides a web-based user interface. Of course, the mobile apps are the main choice when users go fishing. Omakala also works in areas where no mobile service is available, a precondition for nationwide usage even outside mobile coverage, for example, at sea.

“Omakala is the first native app that Luke has developed and published. It has been a learning trip for Luke, and we have been happy to go along hand in hand with Triona. Even though the whole team has never met face to face, the team has welded together and Triona has understood what we are aiming at. We are looking forward to the next phase!” -  Topi Hanhela, VP, digitalization at Luke