Periodic Reporting for period 2 - SUSTUNTECH (Sustainable tuna fisheries through advanced earth observation technologies)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-11-01 al 2023-04-30
The EU requires fishing to be environmentally friendly, economically viable and socially sustainable to provide long-term European food security. As the catches of tropical tuna has reached its limit, the costs and carbon footprint need to be reduced to achieve such objectives. Fuel consumption may represent 50% of the total operational costs of the tuna vessels, which has been one of the main concerns of the fishing companies (Basurko et al.,2013; Suuronen et al., 2012). Moreover, world fishing industry emissions per landed tonne of fish have increased by 21% recently (Parker et al., 2018). A total amount of 3 billion litres of fuel have been consumed in a year by these fleets (Tyedmers and Parker, 2012). But as large pelagic fish, such as tuna species, are highly migratory, vessels targeting tuna species tend to have higher and more variable fuel consumption costs than other fishing of coastal species (Parker and Tyedmers, 2014). This involves 7.7 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year eq. into the atmosphere by the tuna purse seine fleet in fishing operations.
It is worthwhile to highlight that this sector provides 25,000 direct jobs and 54,000 indirect jobs in the EU. Fish distribution and human behaviour modulate fuel consumption, which in turn influence both the profitability and sustainability of the fisheries industry, as well as the ecosystem, through greenhouse emissions.
SusTunTech proposes to apply big data and machine learning approaches to improve day by day operations of tuna fishing vessels and its emissions reduction, by generating added value to the environmental data services provided by Copernicus. The project will result in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) that will help to reduce emissions per catch landed, and to enhance the fishing industry profit and improve species selectivity.
The overall objective of SusTunTech is to support the tuna fishing industry to reduce by at least 20% fuel consumption through KETs based on a more effective use of Copernicus data. This will benefit to i) the industry by reducing costs, ii) the society by reducing its environmental footprint, and iii) species/stocks, by them being exploited with more knowledge and responsibility.
It is worthwhile to highlight that this sector provides 25,000 direct jobs and 54,000 indirect jobs in the EU. Fish distribution and human behaviour modulate fuel consumption, which in turn influence both the profitability and sustainability of the fisheries industry, as well as the ecosystem, through greenhouse emissions.
SusTunTech proposes to apply big data and machine learning approaches to improve day by day operations of tuna fishing vessels and its emissions reduction, by generating added value to the environmental data services provided by Copernicus. The project will result in Key Enabling Technologies (KETs) that will help to reduce emissions per catch landed, and to enhance the fishing industry profit and improve species selectivity.
The overall objective of SusTunTech is to support the tuna fishing industry to reduce by at least 20% fuel consumption through KETs based on a more effective use of Copernicus data. This will benefit to i) the industry by reducing costs, ii) the society by reducing its environmental footprint, and iii) species/stocks, by them being exploited with more knowledge and responsibility.
SusTunTech aims to provide the tuna fishing industry with a suitable data acquisition system to support the exploitation of the project results. A specification has already been developed, highlighting the installation and prerequisites of the data acquisition system for SusTunTech purposes, as well as the requirements to this data acquisition system. A generic system for onboard data acquisition and data distribution has also been developed. This system enables fishing vessels to contribute to publicly available ocean data and to support the development of short- and long-term decision support services for fisheries. To demonstrate and validate the data acquisition system, an onshore testing facility and two tuna fishing vessels have been equipped with the monitoring system, according to the developed specification. The two vessels that are taking part in this project are now providing valuable data for the SusTunTech project, as well as valuable experiences for further development of the system.
Relevant advances have also been made in algorithms that are a very important part of the development of the project. Many of these algorithms have been published in scientific journals, although the delay in implementation on board due to COVID-19 travelling restrictions is starting to affect the tuning of the algorithms as well as their uptakes in the software to be developed, and that is going to provide the user with the most relevant information. At this stage of the project, a preliminary fishing route module has been developed, which takes into account the position of the buoys and the tons of fish underneath them. This module is integrated in SmartMarineView.
Datasets from the X-band radar data installed in the coast, are being continuously monitored and compiled. These datasets have been pre-processed and a post-processing software has been installed for advancing in the preparation of the 1-yr dataset. On the other hand, one of the main variables obtained from the radar spectrum, needs a validation with other in-situ data. Therefore, in-situ datasets recorded will be used for this validation. Buoy datasets are other sources of relevant marine data (currents) and as such this dataset is being processed for achieving the quality control and specificities indicted by the marine data networks.
The Dissemination and Communication plan has promoted the project through online activities (website, social, video etc), traditional media, events, Scientific Communication, and many other tools. In terms of scientific outputs: 1) two papers have been published; 2) SusTunTech has also contributed to a book; 3) invited talks or discussions in international forums such as e-shape clustering initiative, three ICES working groups and seven talks in universities and scientific conferences. SusTunTech team members have been invited to chair round tables in two commercial fairs. Marine Instruments has carried out thirteen presential demos within a demo tour that has been picked up by newspapers and magazines. The project webpage has been regularly updated with more than 40 articles that has been promoted afterwards through the social media accounts. SusTunTech has also created Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter own accounts in addition to the partners’ accounts for better management and diffusion of the information suitable for social media.
Relevant advances have also been made in algorithms that are a very important part of the development of the project. Many of these algorithms have been published in scientific journals, although the delay in implementation on board due to COVID-19 travelling restrictions is starting to affect the tuning of the algorithms as well as their uptakes in the software to be developed, and that is going to provide the user with the most relevant information. At this stage of the project, a preliminary fishing route module has been developed, which takes into account the position of the buoys and the tons of fish underneath them. This module is integrated in SmartMarineView.
Datasets from the X-band radar data installed in the coast, are being continuously monitored and compiled. These datasets have been pre-processed and a post-processing software has been installed for advancing in the preparation of the 1-yr dataset. On the other hand, one of the main variables obtained from the radar spectrum, needs a validation with other in-situ data. Therefore, in-situ datasets recorded will be used for this validation. Buoy datasets are other sources of relevant marine data (currents) and as such this dataset is being processed for achieving the quality control and specificities indicted by the marine data networks.
The Dissemination and Communication plan has promoted the project through online activities (website, social, video etc), traditional media, events, Scientific Communication, and many other tools. In terms of scientific outputs: 1) two papers have been published; 2) SusTunTech has also contributed to a book; 3) invited talks or discussions in international forums such as e-shape clustering initiative, three ICES working groups and seven talks in universities and scientific conferences. SusTunTech team members have been invited to chair round tables in two commercial fairs. Marine Instruments has carried out thirteen presential demos within a demo tour that has been picked up by newspapers and magazines. The project webpage has been regularly updated with more than 40 articles that has been promoted afterwards through the social media accounts. SusTunTech has also created Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter own accounts in addition to the partners’ accounts for better management and diffusion of the information suitable for social media.
The overall concept of the project is to develop a complete set of new commercial solutions (Ratatosk 2.0 MarPrimePlus and SmartMarineView) based on a scientific non-commercialized product (Ratatosk) and two already commercialized products (MarPrime and Marine View™).
The aim is to optimize the operations of the tuna fishing companies for a more efficient and sustainable fishing using Copernicus marine environmental and biological data. Major elements of these product developments will be i) modelling of fuel consumption, ii) estimation of tuna species distribution and iii) route optimization, based on Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) forecasted data. These developments and their validation require in-situ data collection by the tuna vessels, which can become a cost-effective platform for oceanographic data collection.
Furthermore, the project aims to provide the collected data to the Copernicus framework, in order to validate and improve their products. This is expected to improve the Copernicus forecast, as well as the three commercial products developed in SusTunTech, which depend on Copernicus data. This will reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions of the tuna fisheries, increasing its social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The same solutions and products are expected to be easily transferred to other fishing fleets in the future.
The aim is to optimize the operations of the tuna fishing companies for a more efficient and sustainable fishing using Copernicus marine environmental and biological data. Major elements of these product developments will be i) modelling of fuel consumption, ii) estimation of tuna species distribution and iii) route optimization, based on Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) forecasted data. These developments and their validation require in-situ data collection by the tuna vessels, which can become a cost-effective platform for oceanographic data collection.
Furthermore, the project aims to provide the collected data to the Copernicus framework, in order to validate and improve their products. This is expected to improve the Copernicus forecast, as well as the three commercial products developed in SusTunTech, which depend on Copernicus data. This will reduce fuel consumption and GHG emissions of the tuna fisheries, increasing its social, economic, and environmental sustainability. The same solutions and products are expected to be easily transferred to other fishing fleets in the future.