Pacific Tides App for tidal info at a click of a button

Member countries under The Pacific Community (SPC) can now access tidal information with just a click of a button on their phones.

The Pacific Tides App that predicts tides, weather forecasts from temperature, wind gusts and humidity for the day and for the next seven days was launched on April 7 this year.

The app also forecasts water temperature and advises users the best time to go out at sea to fish.

The Pacific Tide Prediction Calendars were generated by the Australian-funded Climate and Oceans Support Programme in the Pacific (COSPPac).

It was designed and produced in the region by the Pacific Community (SPC)’s Ocean and Tides Knowledge Unit.

COSPPac manager/Australian Bureau of Meteorology, Celine Becker, would have access to sea level monitoring stations in 13 Pacific countries, and produce tide predictions for 24 locations, with close to 2000 copies provided to stakeholders annually.

“As COSPPac supports the development of products and services that meet user needs and inform better decision making, we have gone a step further and fulfilled requests from our stakeholders to develop an application for tide predictions,” Ms Becker said.

She said the app launch was a milestone achievement for COSPPac but more importantly for Pacific communities.

In 2018, COSPPac conducted an Ocean Product Survey to help the developers of the app assess user satisfaction and evaluate the products and services provided in the ocean space.

“Throughout the development process, the team reached out to potential users such as seafarers, fishing groups, yacht clubs etc for feedback, which have been incorporated to ensure its fit for purpose,” she said.