Method and system for external fish parasite monitoring in aquaculture

1. A method for external fish parasite monitoring in aquaculture, comprising the steps of:

submerging a camera ( 52 ) in a sea pen ( 40 ) containing fish ( 72 , 74 ), the camera having a field of view;

capturing images of the fish ( 72 , 74 ) with the camera ( 52 );

identifying external fish parasite on the fish ( 72 , 74 ) by analyzing the captured images;

and differentiating between external fish parasites of different type or age;

characterized in that a target region within the field of view of the camera ( 52 ) is illuminated with light of different intensities and/or spectral compositions;

wherein an electronic image processing system ( 78 ) is used for detecting fish ( 72 , 74 ) in an image captured by the camera ( 52 ), for identifying external fish parasite on the fish, and for differentiating between external fish parasites of different type or age;

further comprising the step of training a neural network to identify and differentiate the external fish parasite and using the trained neural network in the electronic image processing system ( 78 ).

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the target region is dimensioned so as to accommodate an entire silhouette of a fish.

3. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the external parasites are identified at a given location on the fish.

4. The method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of identifying the external fish parasite at the given location on the fish includes distinguishing whether said given location is in a top side region ( 90 ) or a bottom side region ( 92 ) of the fish.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the step of detecting the external fish parasite at the given location on the fish includes distinguishing whether said given location is in a top side region ( 90 ) or a bottom side region ( 92 ) of the fish.

6. The method according to claim 1 , comprising the steps of:

operating a ranging detector ( 54 ) to continuously monitor a part of the sea pen ( 40 ) for detecting the presence of fish in that part of the sea pen and, when a fish has been detected, measuring a distance from the camera ( 52 ) to the fish ( 72 , 74 ); and

when a fish has been detected, calculating a focus setting of the camera ( 52 ) on the basis of the measured distance; and triggering the camera ( 72 ) when the detected fish ( 72 , 74 ) is within a predetermined distance range.

7. The method according to claim 6 , wherein the ranging detector ( 54 ) is used for measuring a bearing angle of a detected fish ( 72 ), and the measured bearing angle is used in the image processing system ( 78 ) for searching for the silhouette of the fish in the captured image.

8. A system for external fish parasite monitoring in aquaculture, comprising:

a camera ( 52 ) submerged in a sea pen containing fish ( 72 , 74 );

a target region within a field of view of the camera ( 52 ) that is illuminated with light of different intensities and/or spectral compositions

an electronic image processing system ( 78 ) for detecting fish ( 72 , 74 ) in an image captured by the camera ( 52 ), identifying external fish parasite on the fish, and differentiating between external fish parasites of different type or age;

wherein the electronic image processing system uses a trained a neural network to identify and differentiate the external fish parasite.

9. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the target region is dimensioned so as to accommodate an entire silhouette of a fish.

10. The system according to claim 8 , further comprising a posture sensing unit ( 56 ).

11. The system according to claim 8 , further comprising a ranging detector wherein the ranging detector ( 54 ) continuously monitors a part of a sea pen ( 40 ) for detecting the presence of fish in that part of the sea pen and, when a fish has been detected, measuring a distance from the camera ( 52 ) to the fish ( 72 , 74 ); and when a fish has been detected, calculating a focus setting of the camera ( 52 ) on the basis of the measured distance; and triggering the camera ( 72 ) when the detected fish ( 72 , 74 ) is within a predetermined distance range.

12. The system according to claim 8 , wherein the ranging detector ( 54 ) is used for measuring a bearing angle of a detected fish ( 72 ), and the measured bearing angle is used in the image processing system ( 78 ) for searching for the silhouette of the fish in the captured image.