Periodic Reporting for period 4 - SMARTFISH (Smart fisheries technologies for an efficient, compliant and environmentally friendly fishing sector)
Reporting period: 2022-01-01 to 2022-12-31
The goal of the SMARTFISH project has been to develop, test and promote a number of high-tech systems that will optimize resource efficiency, improve automatic data collection, provide evidence of compliance with fishery regulations and reduce the ecological impact of the sector on the marine environment. SMARTFISH has exploited and further developed existing technological innovations in machine vision, camera technology, data processing, machine learning, artificial intelligence, big data analysis, smartphones/tablets, LED technology, acoustics and ROV technology during the project period.
The SMARTFISH systems have been tested during the project period, and some are already being further developed in follow-up projects, which will ensure that they are able to be used in even more fisheries and with more accuracy. However, they currently depend on voluntary action by the fishing sector to be implemented. To have the largest impact, therefore, these systems depend upon regulatory changes and implementation of requirements for automatic catch registration to be fully represented in the fishing sector at large in Europe. However, once these regulatory changes are in place, these systems can be taken up by the industry and 1) Assist commercial fishers in making informed decisions during pre-catch, catching, and post-catch phases of the extraction process; 2) Provide new data for stock assessment from commercial fishing and improve the quality and quantity of data that comes from traditional assessment surveys; and 3) Permit the automatic collection of catch data to ensure compliance with fisheries management systems.
The SMARTFISH systems have been tested during the project period, and some are already being further developed in follow-up projects, which will ensure that they are able to be used in even more fisheries and with more accuracy. However, they currently depend on voluntary action by the fishing sector to be implemented. To have the largest impact, therefore, these systems depend upon regulatory changes and implementation of requirements for automatic catch registration to be fully represented in the fishing sector at large in Europe. However, once these regulatory changes are in place, these systems can be taken up by the industry and 1) Assist commercial fishers in making informed decisions during pre-catch, catching, and post-catch phases of the extraction process; 2) Provide new data for stock assessment from commercial fishing and improve the quality and quantity of data that comes from traditional assessment surveys; and 3) Permit the automatic collection of catch data to ensure compliance with fisheries management systems.
We developed a system for pre-catch size and species recognition for purse seine fisheries - based on optical and hydroacoustic technologies. We tested and identified the most suitable sensor types for the sensor system “SeinePreCog", and developed the housing for it. We also completed the development of acoustics algorithms for fish size estimation and species recognition, and tested the performance of a 3D camera for fish size estimation named “UTOFIA” and the testing of a size discrimination algorithm for anchovy by including acoustic and biological data from fishing trawls that targeted anchovy of large sizes. This enable us to fit an expanded targeted strength versus length relationship for a range of anchovy sizes from 4 cm to up to 16 cm. We also developed a cable based real-time camera system, dry tested it, and prepared it for onboard testing, adapting it for the UTOFIA 3D camera, so that it could also fit on a trawl. We also developed and tested software to view and analyze the data collected by this cable, and developed and tested the system named “FishFinder”. This delivered high quality images even in turbid water and could document both nephrops burrows and Norway lobster. We also developed and tested the cable-based 2D real-time monitoring system (RTM) “TrawlMonitor”. Finally, the underwater footage from the Nephrops scanner was processed using photogrammetry, to provide a 3D reconstruction of the seabed. Another line of work used LED technology to optimise the catching performance of trawl fishing gear. Based on the reaction of fish to light, we integrated a programmable LED light pod with an acoustic modem to test in real time the change fish behaviour with the use of artificial light in a trawl gear as well. With this new addition, it was possible to control the light settings in real time from the wheelhouse.
We also continued our work on the 3D machine vision system for catch analysis on on-board conveyor belts – the “CatchScanner”, which included species and weight estimation alogrithms in its final version. The “CatchSnap", a versatile, handheld 3D machine vision unit for inspecting catch samples on smaller fishing vessels, has been further developed with imaging procedures and sampling methodologies. Finally, the “CatchMonitor” – a system for automatic monitoring and analysis using CCTV cameras, used on larger vessels was tested for segmentation, fish species and count estimation algorithms with a number of datasets. Finally, we continued our work on “FishData” - a hardware and software infrastructure for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data from onboard catch monitoring systems and other relevant data sources. The system, which is in the form of a web portal, provides information in both visual and programmatic form about catch efficiency and catch composition in fisheries, as well as forecasts of marine environmental conditions.
Each of the systems are tested, demonstrated and promoted in at least one regional sea and within appropriate commercial fisheries and systems. For the technologies being tested in the Norwegian and Barents seas, there was a lot of planning, travelling, engineering, mechanical and electrical work, data collection, testing, troubleshooting and reporting done. The testing in the Mediterranean and Black seas has made logistic arrangements for the test trials to be conducted in the region, and taken pictures of the fish species in the seas around Turkey. The samples include fish and invertebrate species that have been measured and photographed by cell phone camera for the “CatchSnap” technology. The main outcome of the testing work West of Scotland was in the first two reporting periods the practical experience gained by staff working in demersal and shellfish fisheries in the case study area with the technologies developed elsewhere in the project in the last period. For the last reporting period, the focus has been on “CatchSnap” and “CatchMonitor” to evaluate their suitability and feasibility for use in fisheries in the region. For southern North Sea, Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay, we have developed and evaluated the automated image analyses algorithms to assess the performance of different lights technologies and the effect of the lights on the behaviour of fish during the catching process, and conducted and completed testing and demonstration for the defined technologies. For Kattegat and Skagerrak fisheries, we have been able to do the practical test and demonstration of “FishFinder” and “TrawlMonitor” for the stakeholder group in the region, and we are planning for test and demonstrations in 2022.
We also continued our work on the 3D machine vision system for catch analysis on on-board conveyor belts – the “CatchScanner”, which included species and weight estimation alogrithms in its final version. The “CatchSnap", a versatile, handheld 3D machine vision unit for inspecting catch samples on smaller fishing vessels, has been further developed with imaging procedures and sampling methodologies. Finally, the “CatchMonitor” – a system for automatic monitoring and analysis using CCTV cameras, used on larger vessels was tested for segmentation, fish species and count estimation algorithms with a number of datasets. Finally, we continued our work on “FishData” - a hardware and software infrastructure for acquisition, analysis and presentation of data from onboard catch monitoring systems and other relevant data sources. The system, which is in the form of a web portal, provides information in both visual and programmatic form about catch efficiency and catch composition in fisheries, as well as forecasts of marine environmental conditions.
Each of the systems are tested, demonstrated and promoted in at least one regional sea and within appropriate commercial fisheries and systems. For the technologies being tested in the Norwegian and Barents seas, there was a lot of planning, travelling, engineering, mechanical and electrical work, data collection, testing, troubleshooting and reporting done. The testing in the Mediterranean and Black seas has made logistic arrangements for the test trials to be conducted in the region, and taken pictures of the fish species in the seas around Turkey. The samples include fish and invertebrate species that have been measured and photographed by cell phone camera for the “CatchSnap” technology. The main outcome of the testing work West of Scotland was in the first two reporting periods the practical experience gained by staff working in demersal and shellfish fisheries in the case study area with the technologies developed elsewhere in the project in the last period. For the last reporting period, the focus has been on “CatchSnap” and “CatchMonitor” to evaluate their suitability and feasibility for use in fisheries in the region. For southern North Sea, Celtic Sea and Bay of Biscay, we have developed and evaluated the automated image analyses algorithms to assess the performance of different lights technologies and the effect of the lights on the behaviour of fish during the catching process, and conducted and completed testing and demonstration for the defined technologies. For Kattegat and Skagerrak fisheries, we have been able to do the practical test and demonstration of “FishFinder” and “TrawlMonitor” for the stakeholder group in the region, and we are planning for test and demonstrations in 2022.
Work during the Smartfish project went far beyond the state of the art, as evidenced by progress made and the systems developed during the project period, their testing and feedback from the fishing industry itself. These systems have also gained attention by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA) who has supported a follow-up project to further develop some of these technologies to bring them even higher in TRL level and near market readiness. This is continued in among others the EVERYFISH and OPTIFISH projects. The impact of the project is wide reaching and the results have been complementary to ongoing global processes around climate change (reduction in green house gas emissions by 55% by 2030) and the Global Biodiversity Framework and its focus on area use and need for data. These processes are both linked with needs in the primary production sector like fisheries, and the systems developed in Smartfish have been proven to be the first step towards contributing to these large global agreements.