World Aquacluture Magazine - September 2020

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEP TEMBER 2020 65 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6 6 ) similar to other agricultural industries, the application of AI can also be a potent tool in strengthening aquaculture and fruitfully enriching the technical know-how of farmers. AI in Aquaculture The main purpose of implementing process control technology in aquaculture in developing countries is to design tools and devices to aid the speed and precision of assessment of technological parameters that are crucial for successful culture. This occurs mainly due to consideration of socioeconomic factors like variable climate, high labor costs, increasing competition for dwindling water and land resources and unequal regulation. AI finds its applications in aspects like feed management, filtration systems, vision systems, environmental monitoring, disease control and integrated systemmanagement (Fig. 1). AI can be used for careful monitoring of the feeding pattern of the farmed animals to optimize feed consumption and avoid improper regulation of feeding and inaccurate detection of fish appetite. As a result, AI opens new avenues for real-time detection to forecast the exact level of satiety in fed animals. AI can also be used to predict disease outbreaks and minimize fish mortality by prompt implementation of preventive measures based on collected data. This would lead to efficient health management of cultured animals, thereby reducing financial losses resulting frommortality related to disease. Further, AI can keep track of the best market prices of economically important species through continuous tracking of critical timeframes and determine the most profitable times to harvest. With the advance of AI in aquaculture, various start-ups have developed devices as digital solutions to boost innovation. These devices have been developed as intelligent equipment that function to build an unmanned operational regime based on their ability to track, T he ever-increasing global population has raised the bar for food- supply industries all over the world. Aquaculture has successfully set new benchmarks in addressing the demand for sustaining populations. However, this achievement is simultaneously ac- companied by constraints that reduce the overall sustainability of aquacul- ture practices and resource use. There is a trend to mechanize existing com- mercial aquaculture operations using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to provide a new direction and overcome the draw- backs and gaps faced by the existing industry. The vision is to revolutionize aquaculture using various agri-tech investments that are collectively known as the Internet of Things (IoT). These technologies have not yet penetrated deep into the aquaculture industry. This is a type of aquaculture engineering through the manufacturing of process control technologies within the aqua- cultural systems. Artificial Intelligence refers to the non-human interface of intelligence where cognitive functional aspects are simulated by means of a platform that involves machine learning. Today, it is a fast-growing discipline in the field of computer science, dealing with machines and software that appear to think and solve problems and identify the behavior of living beings in accordance with the human brain. Therefore, it has tremendous potential to be used in aquaculture (Table 1). Its incorporation into aquaculture introduces various technical advances to identify measurable patterns in the activities of cultured species and to tap existing sensors, feed systems and cameras on-site (Table 2). Further, it could also provide continuous analysis and objective evidence, thus allowing meaningful data exploration besides performing remote site-level analysis and anomaly detection. This would lead to enhanced production and reduce costs and the environmental footprint of these operations by presenting appropriate strategies to farmers depending on the data collected by the AI-based algorithms and programs. Moreover, Artificial Intelligence: an Emerging Avenue to Boost Aquaculture Production Akruti Gupta, Sanjay Kumar Gupta, Rishav Sheel, Biplab Sarkar and Manisha Priyam Figure 1. Various equipment based on artificial intelligence for application in aquaculture FIGURE 1. V arious equipment based on artificial intelligence for application in aquaculture. TABLE 1. Advantages of using artificial intelligence in aquaculture. • Increases process efficiency • Increases efficiency and less wastage of feed • Reduces energy and water losses • Reduces stress and diseases of cultured animals • Greater inventory control • Allows siting of production closer to markets • Reduces management and labor costs due to automation of all primary functions • Improves environmental control and avoids problems with environmental regulations • Minimizes the amount of effluent from land- based recirculating systems • Renders improved product quality and reliability • Reduces chances for human error • Improves understanding of the production process through the development and testing of rules • Encourages rapid transfer of expert knowledge