The Norwegian fishing industry hopes that artificial intelligence will help protect a native salmon species from an invasive one.
Huawei and Simula Consulting have developed a method that can trap humpback salmon, or pink salmon, in river systems and allow native Atlantic salmon to continue swimming to breeding grounds.
The technology relies on identification software to separate the two species. An AI model was fed thousands of images of different river-based animals, and it was capable of telling the difference between two types of salmon.
Fish swim in an underwater cage in a river, and the AI system separates the humpback from the Atlantic. The former are sent to a separate underwater cage, which can be emptied by fishermen on a regular basis, while the latter are allowed to re-enter the river system. The system will also help monitor the numbers of each species in the river.
It has already been tested in the rivers Kongsfjord and Storelva, and the results are remarkable. More than 6,000 humpback salmon have been successfully removed from the river to spawning grounds, with the technology achieving a 99% identification accuracy level.
In addition to having a high success rate, the technology also reduces the amount of labor needed to help rid Norway’s rivers of slippery sediment.
According to Huawei, humpback salmon were introduced to the Pacific Ocean in the 1960s to help boost the food supply. However, it has since entered Norway’s river system and poses a threat to its native Atlantic salmon species, carrying disease, disrupting the food chain, and having a negative impact on the ecosystem. Atlantic salmon populations have declined by up to 50% since the 1980s.
Humpback salmon reproduce at high rates, and are known to be aggressive, making it difficult for other fish in the river to compete for valuable resources.
The technology, which Huawei describes as a “world first,” impressed after its initial success, and the Norwegian fishing industry is looking to take the next step and implement it in other river networks.
“Norway’s wild salmon is threatened by other species, including humpback salmon and escaped farmed salmon,” Tor Schulstad, hunting and fishing association administrator for Berlevag JFF, told Huawei. “Monitoring systems using AI are helping to stop this and enable future-proof river management.”
Norway is not the only place dealing with invasive fish. In Florida, for example, lionfish are becoming a problem for species that call coral reefs home — affecting delicate ecosystems and leading to coral damage and death.
But one company is looking to make the most of the issue by solving another, using fish skins to make an ethical type of leather used in fashion.
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