AUTONATURA2000 II - Automatic monitoring of species exploited by recreational fishing in the marine Natura 2000 Network with high-definition cameras

AUTONATURA2000 II – Automatic monitoring of species exploited by recreational fishing in the marine Natura 2000 Network with high-definition cameras

Pleamar program

Description:

The project aims to implement and validate a monitoring system for fish species exploited by recreational fishing, based on time series of high-definition photographs and videos. Acquired by underwater cameras, they allow the characterisation and evaluation of fish populations in the marine Natura 2000 Network of the Balearic Islands (Marine Reserve of the Bay of Palma, marine area around the Malgrats Islands, marine area of the island of El Toro). The development of algorithms for automatic manipulation of images and digital databases was contemplated, as well as the generation of useful output for the administrations in charge of the management of the areas that comprise the marine Natura 2000 Network, such as maps of species distribution, monitoring and sizes.

Two meetings were held with the administration for the transfer of results and a workshop with different stakeholders to inform about the objectives of the project, the Pleamar Programme and the Natura 2000 Network. In addition, a SWOT analysis of the fish stock monitoring system has been carried out to facilitate specific management and monitoring plans for marine protected areas.

Autonatura2000 II gives continuity to the Autonatura2000 project (Automatic monitoring of recreational fishing in the marine Natura 2000 Network with high-definition cameras) beneficiary in the 2017 call of the Pleamar Program. The methodological potential developed in Autonatura2000 has generated the need to implement the new methodology, not only to monitor the effort of recreational fishing but also for the fish populations of the Natura 2000 Network. IMEDEA detected the need to improve the underwater image acquisition system and the algorithms for species identification and tracking and size.

See the project.

Project

Line of action:

Marine ecosystems

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2019

Objectives

Implementation and validation of a monitoring system for fish species exploited by recreational fishing, based on high-definition video for the characterization and automatic monitoring of these populations in the marine Natura 2000 Network (MPA of the Bay of Palma and the Malgrats/El Toro Islands).

Results

Thanks to this project, valuable knowledge has been acquired regarding the possibilities of deep learning and the Autonatura2000dos system as a tool for automatic monitoring of fish species. These systems have a low cost and great potential for obtaining spatial and temporal data on the distribution of species and their sizes in the Natura 2000 Network.

This project has been carried out in the Natura 2000 Network of Mallorca. The monitoring system carried out during the AutoNatura2000dos project has made it possible to obtain spatial and temporal data on the distribution of marine species in two areas of the Natura 2000 Network and the establishment of a protocol for the homogenization of images. In addition, the system detected the effect of an invasive species in Mallorcan waters (Halimeda incrassata, invasive marine macroalgae) and its subsequent study. The pilot project of the AutoNatura2000dos system is presented as a very interesting alternative for the collection of data on fish species exploited by recreational fishing, as well as for the monitoring of these areas, thus contributing to the priorities of the EMFF.

Specifically, the presented output of AutoNatura2000dos contributes to the achievement of three of the four objectives (priorities) of the EMFF defined in Regulation (EU) No 508/2014 of the European Parliament. In addition, during the development of the project, the great potential (through four case studies) of the AutoNatura2000dos automatic monitoring system has been demonstrated to cover EMFF priorities, including improving the implementation of the CFP and the PMI.

Once the results of the project have been obtained, a SWOT has been developed that allows defining a strategy to enhance strengths, overcome weaknesses, control threats and benefit from the opportunities learned in the development of the AutoNatura2000dos project for the automatic monitoring of species exploited by recreational fishing in the marine Natura 2000 Network with high-definition underwater cameras.

AUTONATURA2000 II – Automatic monitoring of species exploited by recreational fishing in the marine Natura 2000 Network with high-definition cameras

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