An innovative tool to check fish quality

Four research organisations have developed a revolutionary monitoring tool that quantifies the freshness of seafood using artificial intelligence.

Supplying the market with certified fishery products is one of the objectives of the EU common fisheries policy. To achieve this, the quality of fishery products needs to be monitored and controlled. This control is normally done by an experienced veterinarian who examines fish samples in a laboratory, looking at the condition of the gills and eyes, the firmness and smell of the flesh, and the colour of the skin.

This project has developed a portable tool that uses cutting-edge imaging sensors and artificial intelligence to quickly check the quality without the need to be in direct contact with the fish. It automatically recognises the freshness of the fish. The fact that it is portable makes it particularly useful in fish auctions, where crates of fish are presented on a conveyor belt in front of potential buyers. The control tool can be installed above the conveyor, where it photographs every fish in the crate and provides an immediate quality assessment for each individual fish.

The images are run through a database that contains large numbers of images of the main commercial species on the Greek market. Based on this, the system is able to classify the freshness of the fish.