An underwater revolution in fish surveying
The Deep Vision system sorts and measures fish without bringing them onboard
Deep Vision in the trawl. Photo courtesy of Deep Vision
Rasmus Falck
Oslo, Norway
Scantrol Deep Vision won this year’s Nor-Fishing Innovation Award for their underwater camera system for fish measurement and sorting in the trawl. Norway’s Minister of Fisheries, Per Sandberg, handed over the award at the official opening of the Nor-Fishing fair on August 16. On behalf of the company, Sales and Marketing Coordinator Hege Hammersland-White said that the company was humbled to be awarded the prize and saw it as an acknowledgement of the long-term development of a system that will revolutionize the way we harvest the ocean’s resources.
In 2014 Scantrol decided to transition their marine research to the Scantrol Deep Vision company, which would pursue a unique focus on marine research products. This resulted in a new drive to develop cutting-edge solutions for fish sampling and surveying. The Scantrol companies are both located in the Sandviken harbor of Bergen, a stone’s throw from the city center. This way they can keep close to the knowledge they have developed over a number of years of working with control systems for fisheries, marine research, and offshore industries. The two companies also share a worldwide sales and support network.
The Deep Vision team is dedicated to the development and sales of the new company’s measuring board, the FishMeter, and the underwater camera system, Deep Vision. To develop these products, they have worked in close cooperation with the Institute of Marine Research in Bergen, which is located just across the fjord. They are partners in the Center for Research-based innovation in sustainable fish capture and processing technology.
A screenshot of the system with length measurement. Photo courtesy of Deep Vision
Deep Vision is a light system mounted in the trawl that takes images of all fish passing through. The system is currently being used for research purposes by measuring fish for size and species without needing to bring them onboard the vessel and subsequently discard them. It is being developed for use in commercial trawl fisheries where the skipper will be able to program the system for size and species of desired catch. Deep Vision will automatically sort the catch in the trawl so that desired catch goes into the trawl and the rest swims through.
After years of development, the Deep Vision system is now available for rental and sale for research purposes, revolutionizing fish surveys by sampling in the trawl without the need to bring the fish on board the vessel. In a few years, a new system will be developed for use in commercial fisheries, making it possible to program and automatically sort the catch in the trawl by species and length. Deep Vision is a great leap towards more sustainable fisheries and ethical harvesting of the world’s marine resources. According to Hammersland-White, the award money gives the company the opportunity to meet with fishermen and discuss how the system can best be implemented for use in trawl fisheries.
Rasmus Falck is a strong innovation and entrepreneurship advocate. The author of “What do the best do better” and “The board of directors as a resource in SME,” he received his masters degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently lives in Oslo, Norway.
This article originally appeared in the Oct. 7, 2016, issue of The Norwegian American. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
