The system is designed for tuna farming and utilises image recognition technology to count the fish

Japan-based Yanmar Marine Systems Co., Ltd , a Yanmar Group company, begins accepting orders within Japan for a new automated fish counting system from April 2021. The system is designed for tuna farming and utilizes image recognition technology to count the number of fish.

In fish farming, it is essential to know the number of fish inside each net in order to control production volume and the amount of feed used. Furthermore, in recent years as part of a drive towards more sustainable resource management, fishing vessels are required to accurately report the number of young pacific bluefin tuna caught in the wild, which end up being used for breeding at fish farms. Current methods are laborious and time-intensive requiring manual counting of the total number of fish caught and visually counting underwater images when moving the fish to aquaculture nets.

To tackle this problem and support the aquaculture industry, YMS has developed the Automated Fish Counting System which significantly reduces the time needed to count fish. Yanmar’s Research & Development Center developed image recognition and processing technology and an integrated system including hardware, such as a specially designed underwater camera and image processing computer, to realize real-time automated counting. Under optimal conditions, the system has succeeded in automatically counting tuna with an accuracy of more than 98%. In the future, YMS aims to contribute to greater efficiency and development of the fishing and aquaculture industry by reducing feed costs, cutting work time, and facilitating the accurate reporting of catches.