Artificial intelligence could make it possible to better assess and target fish and seafood stocks, while increasing business profitability.
The Rimouski CIDCO research center came to present its latest technological advances to players in the world of fishing who are participating in the 46th Congress of theAQIP in Quebec.
This drone is equipped with state-of-the-art cameras that can take high-definition photos. It made it possible, for example, to inventory 6,000 sea urchins in just three minutes.
It was developed by the young CIDCO company, Ocean Riotafter investments of two million dollars since 2017.
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The director of research and development of information technologies at CIDCO, Guillaume Morissette, believes that fisheries can benefit from technological advances in artificial intelligence, of which Quebec is a pioneer.
Photo : - / Martin Toulgoat
The drone thus makes it possible to more precisely target areas that are exploitable and commercially profitable, while protecting stocks for better conservation and sustainability of the resource.
In the studies we conducted with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, we were able to reduce marine prospecting areas by nearly 85% by targeting areas where we have commercially viable species. Another interesting thing that technology allows us to do is target areas where we have nurseries or juvenile specimens.
Artificial intelligence would also allow Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists to better inventory fish and seafood stocks in order to more precisely assess their growth and state of health.
We realize that we are capable of having extremely promising results with artificial intelligence and fishing is no exception, so what was a manual process before with biologists circling specimens by hand on photos for months, now we can do that for a few minutes: artificial intelligence becomes a force multiplier
adds Mr. Morissette.
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Example of seabed photography captured by the submarine designed by Ocean Riot.
Photo: gracieuseté d’Ocean Riot
With the color of snow crab shells, researchers could, for example, assess their level of maturity, without having to fish them to determine it.
Interest in the fishing industry
But the underwater drone has certain limitations: it dives to maximum depths of 100 meters.
It could therefore be more useful to coastal fishermen of sea cucumbers, sea urchins or scallops, for example.
The Association of Captains-Owners of Gaspésie (ACPG) is interested in artificial intelligence to enable coastal sea cucumber or scallop fishermen to reduce their ecological footprint on the seabed.
The intention of our research projects is to ultimately have a set of fishing activities that will have a minimal impact on the seabed in order to allow regeneration of the habitat, then If we could manage to eliminate certain types of equipment like the dredge, we would be proud of our achievement.
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The general director of the Association of captains-owners of Gaspésie, Claudio Bernatchez, explains that the organization is currently working on two projects involving artificial intelligence.
Photo : - / Martin Toulgoat
Mr. Bernatchez goes further. Some fishing, such as sea cucumber fishing, can be done with divers to reduce the impact on the seabed, but there is a risk. So he dreams of a robot that would allow fishing without repercussions for the seabed.
In many other industries, this is done. In car manufacturing, there are welding robots, so the robots are there, are present and are getting faster and faster. Costs are decreasing as it develops, so we believe we will get there in the not-so-distant future.
concludes Claudio Bernatchez.
Until then, CIDCO hopes that fishermen will be there to improve the collection of data with its underwater drone, since the effectiveness of the device depends on the quantity of images collected in order to allow the artificial intelligence to recognize a given crustacean or fish more precisely.
