“Ichthyologists, fish cages in the open ocean, aquafarms on the seabed, high-speed fishing vessels. Artificial intelligence has shown what the fisheries complex of the future will look like,” said Ilya Shestakov, opening the plenary session.
“Russia is in the top five countries in terms of aquatic resource extraction. The catch has increased by 1 million tons in recent years. Now they catch 5 million per year. Last year (there was) a record catch level - 5 million 370 thousand tons. And all this is thanks to the modernization of the industry: new vessels and fish processing plants are being built,” emphasized Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Patrushev.
The head of the Federal Agency for Fisheries pointed out the importance of harvesting and processing algae: “The Federal Agency for Fisheries will develop a separate program for the harvesting and processing of algae. The issue of diversification of the fishery for the company, its processing is very important. And an important area for us now is to develop new objects, including algae. (…) We agreed that we will make a separate program for the harvesting and processing of algae, with the involvement of experts in the fields of cosmetology and pharmaceuticals. We will create such a program so that this area develops at an accelerated pace,” said Ilya Shestakov.
The formation of the global fisheries complex of the future determines the demand for innovations and promotes the widespread introduction of advanced technologies in all areas. Thus, the need to reduce bycatch, minimize the impact on non-target species leads to the creation of more selective fishing gear. Rising fuel costs and the need for greater operational efficiency are powerful incentives for improving the design of fishing vessels and navigation systems, including fully automated and unmanned ones, which are already becoming a reality.
The growth of aquaculture production also activates innovations: new facilities and polyculture fish farming, improvement of RAS technology, giant floating aquafarms and aquaponics, biotechnology to improve the productivity and quality of facilities, automation of production, robots and artificial intelligence.
Deep processing technologies for fish products and improved logistics will help fill the global consumer market. The desire to increase transparency and traceability in supply chains, driven by demand for environmentally friendly seafood, has led to innovations in data collection and management technologies.
Everything that may seem fantastic today will become familiar tomorrow not only to fishermen and fish farmers, but even to ordinary consumers, for whom the fisheries complex works all over the world.
Press service of VNIRO