Overview

E-Fisheries system was implemented by Nodes Digital Limited in Mymenshing District in Bangladesh. The SMART farming solution which incorporates IoT sensors, gateway, associated software and mobile app is currently being used by fish farmers in the district who are associated with Quality Feeds Limited (QFL) one of the largest private sector stakeholder in agriculture sector in Bangladesh.

Technology

Fish farming in Bangladesh is far away from reaching it’s full potential in Bangladesh compared to countries such as Thailand, Indonesia etc. For example, fish density in ponds in Bangladesh is significantly lower in comparison with above mentioned countries; feeding cost is high due to overfeeding and in general fish farms in Bangladesh struggles to keep pond habitat ideal thus increasing the chance of mortality and minimizes yield potential. An effective way to tackle the problem is to use IoT and other SMART technologies. Nodes Digital’s E-fisheries solution automates fish farming by integrating real-time data analytics, IoT and AI by allowing to monitor critical parameters such as water quality, temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia and optimizing decision support.

Results and Impact

Fish farms and hatcheries receive real-time data regarding parameters tracked through mobile app. Fish specific ML models monitors and predicts habitat situation using real-time data. Users gets suggestions and recommended action to be taken in case of potential fish habitat degradation. Preemptive action such as when to start aerator in the pond helps fish growth and maximizes yield. The system is operated (use of pump and aerator) through a mobile app.

To illustrate the value potential let us consider a hypothetical scenario. On an average in a fish pond with a size of 4 acres with one primary fish such as “tengra” and other secondary fishes such as carps needs feed worth over Tk. 3,400,000 a year. It is possible to save up to 15% of feed using our system which is worth Tk 518,000 a year. This is because there is a prevalent practice of over feeding fishes without determining actual requirement which degrades the pond habitat due to undigested feed released by fishes. In the same pond size, habitat management and preventive measures based real time monitoring of key parameters and our ML models can increase yield up to 12% which amounts Tk. 600,000 value addition a year. This is ensured through increase in yield which is a result of increased fish density and weight; reduction in fish mortality due to better pond/fish habitat. Furthermore, our solution provides fish production/lifecycle traceability which can help improve export potential by ensuring safe produces and complying with certification requirements. In addition, yield prediction tool helps fish farms to plan for the future more accurately.