Trinidad and Tobago launches SeaiTT app

The Ministry of Planning and Development of Trinidad and Tobago has launched SeaiTT, a mobile application that will allow the public to actively take part in marine protection.

In a release, the Institute of Marine Affairs’ said that the development of this mobile application is part of a 2014 Green Fund project entitled “Control and Management of the Invasive Lionfish in Trinidad and Tobago”

The Sea Information of Trinidad and Tobago or SeaiTT will allow users to report environmental incidents with the touch of a button especially the sightings of lionfish and other invasive species or illegal activities posing threat to the domestic marine ecosystems.

SeaiTT also provides vital marine information, including access maps to beaches, as well as updates on tides, currents, sea swells and can act as an environmental emergency response platform.

Camille Robinson-Regis, Planning and Development Minister, urged citizens to download the app.

“This new platform facilitates citizen participation in environmental management and preservation and this allows a large part of the population to be extra eyes, working to help the IMA manage our marine ecosystems.”

Robinson-Regis noted that the launch of the app is timely especially given that gradual measures are being taken to open T&T’s beaches which have been closed for a significant amount of time due to COVID-19.

“This will benefit our tourism product and the financial viability of our environmental resources, which—according to the 5th National Report of Trinidad and Tobago to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2017—are valued in the region of US $100 million per year in terms of soil protection, water purification services, as well as recreation and tourism-based activities.”

The SeaiTT mobile app is created in collaboration with the Caribbean Industrial Research Institute (CARIRI) and can be downloaded, free of change, for both iOS and Android platforms.