S'pore app using AI to combat illegal wildlife trade acquired by US start-up

Straits Times

5 hours ago

The app was born from a collaboration between NParks, Microsoft Singapore and non-profit group Conservation International. PHOTO: ST FILE
S'pore app using AI to combat illegal wildlife trade acquired by US start-up
SINGAPORE - A mobile application launched in Singapore in 2022 to combat illegal w ildlife trade has been acquired by a US-based biodiversity technology firm.
The app, called Fin Finder, is the first-of-its-kind in Asia which uses artificial intelligence (AI) to help border enforcement officers identify illegally traded shark and ray fins.
Users are able to upload a photo of a fin on the app and its algorithm will analyse its shapes and patterns to identify the species of origin.
Born from a collaboration between Singapore's National Park Board (NParks), Microsoft Singapore and non-profit group Conservation International, the app was acquired by Washington-based Conservation X Labs in April 2025.
Since its launch, the app has been adopted by law enforcement agencies in 32 countries, and has an accuracy level of 89.4 per cent, NParks said in response to The Straits Times' queries.
Over the years, it has also been regularly updated with the appendix status of each species in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), which outlines its level of protection under international trade laws, the agency added.
While Conservation X Labs will manage the app, moving forward, NParks said that it remains an implementing partner and user.
Dr Anna Wong, NParks' senior director of wildlife trade, said: 'Using technology like Fin Finder can strengthen enforcement against the illegal trade of shark and ray species, and enhance Singapore's capabilities in conserving biodiversity.'
She added that the app' s creation has highlighted the importance of cooperation between the public and private sectors in fighting illegal wildlife trade.
In an April 2025 statement to app users, Conservation X Labs, which helped to build Fin Finder's machine learning models, said that the acquisition may enable further development in its image analysis technology, and the expansion of the app's reach.
A free, rapid identification tool
Fin Finder's biggest strengths, said its founders, is that it is a free-to-use, rapid identification tool.
In the shark's fin trade, fins are often imported in containers with mixed shipments, said Dr Andrew Rhyne, a professor of marine biology at the Roger Williams University and one of the app's founders.
As a result, a percentage of the shipment are often fins of Cites-protected species, which are nestled among those that are not.
Dr Rhyne said: 'High-quality, rapid identification tools that are inexpensive and accurate would be very useful for customs and border agents.'
Fin Finder is part of a two-step process, he explained, where enforcement officers first use the app to identify species that have been illegally traded before confirming this through DNA testing.
This is crucial given the sheer volume and diversity of wildlife products that pass through country borders, said Dr Michael Tlusty, a professor of sustainability and food solutions at the University of Massachusetts Boston and another of the app's founders.
Citing a recently published paper which found that nearly 30,000 species of animals were imported into America over two decades, he said: 'Nobody's going to know 30,000 species, so these automated tools make the job of customs agents much easier.'
The app's usage over the past years has also resulted in over 4,000 photos of shark fins, which Dr Rhyne said is valuable information that can help its developers fortify its AI model.
Scaling up for global use
Looking ahead, Fin Finder's founders said possibilities for the app are limitless.
Mr Eric Fegraus, a former senior director of technology at Conservation International who led efforts to develop the app, said: 'It could scale to other species – certainly, more sharks – and be implemented in other areas in the world where it's needed.'
Dr Tlusty, likewise, believes that the app's technology can be modified to identify other animal derivative products.
He said: 'As we build more identification algorithms, such as edge detection and spot recognition, we can even start combining them.'
Ultimately, Mr Fegraus said it is about developing flexible technology that can be used to enforce the regulations of the day.
While he acknowledges that ideological debates on whether mankind should even fish for animals, like sharks, remain necessary, he said having the tools to aid in enforcement are equally important.
'Particularly around wildlife, we've got to, at the minimum, enforce the rules, and then eventually, we have to change the rules,' he said.
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