1st Press Release: Optimisation of Digital Catch Monitoring & Reporting in European Fisheries

OptiFish Project: Enable fishers to become managers of the marine good

OptiFish, a pioneering co-funded Horizon Europe Project aiming at enhancing sustainable fishing practices by developing, testing, and validating cutting-edge, cost-effective technologies and tools for monitoring in the fishing industry, was successfully launched on February 1st, 2024.

19 partners from 8 different countries were gathered at the kick-off meeting on the 18th and 19th of April 2024, hosted by the project’s coordinator Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO) in Ostend, Belgium, to underscore a united commitment to revolutionize fisheries management.

The OptiFish consortium is expert and innovation driven, bringing together 7 research institutes and universities, 7 technology companies, 2 producer’s organisations, 2 government bodies and 1 non-profit organisation. All parties underscored a united commitment to revolutionize fisheries management, ensuring the health of marine ecosystems for future generations.

During the event, each partner had the opportunity to showcase their expertise and outline their role and forthcoming actions to the project. This collective approach set a strong foundation towards OptiFish growth, highlighting the diverse capabilities and shared goals of the consortium.

The Project is poised to set a new standard for sustainable fishing practices in the European seas. Through its innovative approach, it will provide fishers with technologies and tools to operate more effectively and sustainably.

By integrating artificial intelligence and computer vision, the OptiFish project aims to enable precise, real-time species recognition and health assessments. These technologies will be crucial in reducing unwanted catches, preventing unreported fishing activities, and ensuring compliance with fishing regulations. 

Furthermore, the OptiFish Project will employ a series of five (5) pilot studies across various seas in Europe to test and validate its onboard technologies and system architectures in five (5) different types of fisheries.

The kick-off meeting triggered the dynamic start of the OptiFish project, emphasizing the combination of all partners scientific and technical skills and paving the way to innovation in marine environment.

Dive in https://optifish.eu/ to learn more about the OptiFish project and follow us on social media.

Disclaimer

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or Research Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.