Precision Aquaculture: A Way Forward for Sustainable Agriculture

Abstract

The escalating demands for food, fiber, energy, and water due to swift population growth have underscored the necessity for the sustainable utilization of natural resources. The advent of precision farming tools and machinery since the 1990s has markedly enhanced productivity and optimized the employment of inputs in aquaculture. The burgeoning connectivity in rural regions and its improved integration with data from sensor systems, remote sensors, equipment, and smartphones have paved the way for innovative concepts in Digital Aquaculture. Automation is the most effective strategy to manage situations, augment productivity, and reduce manufacturing costs. Biosensors are deployed to control unidentified sensor-based remotely and guided aerial vehicles to apply chemicals or fertilizers while monitoring water quality. A sophisticated aeration system manages the concentration of dissolved oxygen. Another critical aspect is the administration of feeding and automatic biomass estimation. Robotics and automatic feeders are employed in ponds and cages to minimize feed wastage and the Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR), with these tools being dependent on the behaviour of the organisms and the water condition. Post-harvest, farmers acquire information on biomass estimation to attain optimal yield. The most vital element is the automatic monitoring of the health and welfare management of the organism to detect any challenging situations or early signs of anomalies. An underwater surveillance system, a camera-based visual system, collects data on water quality, organism activity, feeding, cage biofouling, and net cleaning. Automation is poised to shape the future of the aquaculture industry to make the nations agriculture sustainable.