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Optimisation of digital catch monitoring and reporting in European Fisheries

Project description

Data collection solution for European fisheries

Declining fish stocks, inefficient control measures and eroding consumer trust have plagued the European fishing industry. Inaccurate reporting and unsustainable practices threaten both marine ecosystems and livelihoods. In this context, the EU-funded OptiFish project aims to tackle these pressing issues head-on. By harnessing AI, OptiFish will revolutionise data collection on catch volumes, compositions and fishing environments. Through electronic and genetic monitoring, coupled with AI-driven species recognition, the project aims to curb discards and unreported activities, ushering fisheries control into the digital era. OptiFish also lays the groundwork for future advancements, emphasising stakeholder collaboration and adaptability.

Objective

OptiFish will strive to provide technological solutions that will simultaneously improve the sustainability of fisher’s operations, enhance control processes and strengthen society’s trust in their products.
OptiFish will develop, test and recommend a set of innovative technologies and tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) to provide the management, the fishing sector and the scientist with data on catch volumes, catch compositions and the fishing environment.
The goal is to unlock the full potential of technologies such as electronic and genetic monitoring for automated species recognition based on AI and computer vision to reduce discards, unreported landings and unreported fishing activities, ultimately establishing a fisheries control and enforcement system fit for the digital age. The technologies are not enough alone, it is also critical to consider the combination of technologies and the integration of computer vision models, the wide range of data sources and their subsequent formats, while also addressing stakeholders needs and acceptance.
This goal cannot be achieved by a single project, which is why the aim of OptiFish is to lay a solid foundation for full technological development from which other projects and initiatives can be built. The project will place a strong focus on species recognition in different fisheries equipped with distinctly different catch handling facilities and in different European sea basins.
To ensure that these innovations are relevant to fisheries management, OptiFish has participation from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, and has received written support from the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), the Basque, Danish and Belgian Fisheries authorities.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

Keywords

Programme(s)

Topic(s)

Funding Scheme

HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions

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Call for proposal

(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL6-2023-FARM2FORK-01

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Coordinator

EIGEN VERMOGEN VAN HET INSTITUUT VOOR LANDBOUW- EN VISSERIJONDERZOEK
Net EU contribution
€ 916 562,50
Address
BURG. VAN GANSBERGHELAAN 92 BUS 1
9820 Merelbeke
Belgium
Region
Vlaams Gewest Prov. Oost-Vlaanderen Arr. Gent
Activity type
Research Organisations
Links
Total cost
€ 916 562,50

Participants (18)