By Khalifa Hemed
Published May 23, 2021
A new system designed for tuna farming and that uses image recognition technology to count the number of fish has been launched.
Yanmar Marine Systems (YMS), a Japanese company that developed the technology, says: “In fish farming, it is essential to know the number of fish inside each net in order to control production volume and the amount of feed used. Furthermore, in recent years as part of a drive towards more sustainable resource management, fishing vessels are required to accurately report the number of young pacific bluefin tuna caught in the wild, which end up being used for breeding at fish farms. Current methods are laborious and time-intensive requiring manual counting of the total number of fish caught, and visually counting underwater images when moving the fish to aquaculture nets.”
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YMS says its Automated Fish Counting System which it says significantly reduces the time needed to count fish is aimed at supporting the aquaculture industry.
The system, YMS says, enables the farmer ‘to realize real-time automated counting’ and that its system has, in what it refers to as ‘under optimal conditions’, ‘succeeded in automatically counting tuna with an accuracy of more than 98%.
“YMS aims to contribute to greater efficiency and development of the fishing and aquaculture industry by reducing feed costs, cutting work time, and facilitating the accurate reporting of catches,” YMS says.
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Saying the product is available in the Japan market, Yanmar says it, ‘in collaboration with the aquaculture division of Maruha Nichiro Co., Ltd’, is working on the mass production of the product prior to its launch on the world market.
Product Overview:
- Standard configuration: underwater camera (including video cable), onboard monitor, image processing computer and dedicated software
Main features of the automated fish counting system:
- Counting system enables users to analyze and check results during or immediately after video capture
- Angle of view of underwater camera can be adjusted by remote control even after the camera is installed underwater, reducing the time required to install and adjust the camera
- Angle of view and brightness can be adjusted to reduce image disturbances and reduce impact on automated analysis
- Screen display and correction functionality to enable easy manual counting and correction after automated analysis even for images affected by environmental disturbances.
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