Coastal Creature Watch
A regional marine-life identification and sighting-logging app for West Coast beachgoers, fisherman, and tidepoolers to log unusual species (sea snakes, mahi mahi, hammerheads) and get verified IDs plus safety context during marine heatwaves.
West Coast beachgoers, tidepoolers, spearfishers, and citizen scientists who notice odd marine life
- Photo-based species ID with El Niño-adjusted safety warnings (e.g., venomous sea snake classification)
- Community sighting log filtered by region and species rarity
- Educational deep-dives on why specific tropical species appear during marine heat waves
- Exportable sighting history for users contributing to local citizen-science projects
El Niño 2026 is already delivering Mahi mahi and juvenile white sharks to California ahead of schedule; scientists expect 'all kinds of weird tropical things' to appear — exactly the moment curious public sightings spike.
Multiple 2026 news articles (USA Today, Aquarium of the Pacific, NOAA) explicitly forecast unusual tropical species (mahi mahi, hammerheads, whale sharks) hitting West Coast, with public attention peaking during marine heatwaves — real but episodic, not a steady daily-search need.El Niño forecast warns of unusual sharks and snakes on West Coast ↗7 Ways El Niño and Large Marine Heatwave Could Affect West Coast Marine Species ↗
Closest competitors are TidePoolers (PNW-only, tidepool-focused, not pelagic/heatwave species) and iNaturalist (broad global taxonomy, no safety/alerts context); no dedicated West Coast tropical-vagrant + safety app exists but iNaturalist's network of 400k+ scientists crowds out casual ID use.TidePoolers - mobile app for curious coastal explorers ↗iNaturalist - Apps on Google Play ↗
iNaturalist, TidePoolers, and Citizen Sea are all free; the citizen-science niche rarely supports premium pricing — Sharktivity-style targeted users pay ~$0–$3, and West Coast beachgoers are notoriously ad/toll-resistant; sponsorship by aquariums or fishing tackle brands is more plausible than subscriptions.iNaturalist - Apps on Google Play ↗TidePoolers - mobile app for curious coastal explorers ↗
El Niño is cyclical (~every 2–7 years), so demand spikes during events and fades — but NOAA confirms recurring marine heatwaves tied to climate change, creating multi-year tailwinds; however, novelty-driven attention rarely retains users between events.7 Ways El Niño and Large Marine Heatwave Could Affect West Coast Marine Species ↗
Core ID is achievable by fine-tuning a model on iNaturalist/CV pipelines and partnering with NOAA MBARI or aquariums for verification — moderate complexity; the harder parts are vetted-ID workflow with marine biologists and reliable shark/tropical-fish ID off curated datasets.How Everyday Citizens Are Revolutionizing Marine Research ↗