CASCAIS, Portugal, July 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei received the GeSI
Digital with Purpose (DWP) Award 2024 and the DWP Biodiversity
Award 2024 yesterday for its automated filtering system designed to
protect wild Atlantic salmon in Norway.
Developed under Huawei's TECH4ALL initiative with local
partners Berlevåg Hunter and Fishermen's Association (BJFF), Simula Consulting,
and Troll Systems, the award-winning solution is able to recognize
different fish species and filter out pink salmon, an invasive
species that is not native to Norway's rivers and has had a
significant negative impact on native salmon.
"The award of the Grand Prize to Huawei's AI solution for
screening invasive salmon was unanimous among all the judges. Not
only for its innovation, but also for the results it has achieved
in a short space of time. This system is an example of how
technological solutions have the power to contribute to the
sustainability of the planet and the preservation of ecosystems,"
said Luís Neves, CEO of the Global Enabling Sustainability
Initiative (GeSI).
"Huawei committed to the Digital with Purpose initiative in
May 2021, pledging to establish
practical and incremental steps to become a purpose-led business
that has a positive impact on society and our home," said
Joyce Liu, Director of the TECH4ALL
Program Office at Huawei. "The technologies and partnerships that
safeguard biodiversity and ecosystems not only benefit our planet,
but also local communities that depend on natural resources."
With wild Atlantic salmon an integral part of Norway's identity, culture, and economy, the
urgent need for a solution to the invasive species is recognized on
a national scale.
Introduced into rivers bordering Norway in the 1960s, the pink salmon's rapid
reproduction cycle means that increasing numbers of the invasive
species flood into Norway's river systems every other year as part of
its biennial spawning cycle. They aggressively outcompete native
salmon for food, introduce disease, and increase the nitrogen
content in rivers when they decompose, in turn causing other
aquatic life to die.
After two years of development by Huawei and partners, the
solution was deployed in pilot projects in Norway's Kongsfjord and Storelva rivers in
2023. More than 6,000 pink salmon were successfully diverted out of
the two rivers during last year's breeding season.
"The trap has been developed and tested over several seasons,
and we are convinced that our AI-based solution is the recipe for
future success. Among the many thousands of identifications that we
did last year, we identified and caught 100% of the pink salmon,
and had an overall identification rate of 99.98," said Geir Kristiansen, General Manager of BJFF.
How the solution works
The automated filtering solution comprises a river-spanning
tunnel, underwater cameras, an automated gate, and an AI algorithm
trained to recognize different fish species. When the system
recognizes pink salmon, the gate remains closed and diverts the
fish into a holding tank. For wild Atlantic salmon and other native
species, the gate opens, allowing them to swim upstream to complete
their spawning cycle.
Previously, volunteers had to visually identify and manually
remove pink salmon, a task that is time- and labor-intensive,
error-prone, and results in an average fish injury or death rate of
30%. In contrast, the automated solution cuts manual labor
requirements by 90% and all fish are unharmed.
In the Kongsfjord River pilot, the filtering system is
solar-powered and connected by 5G, as the site lacks a power supply
or network connectivity. The success of the pilot projects means
that the solution can potentially be scaled out throughout Norway's
river systems, including those that lack the required
infrastructure.
The GeSI Digital with Purpose Global Award aims to highlight and
celebrate digital solutions that address human needs, decrease
poverty, increase inclusivity, and protect nature in line with the
United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda (SDGs) and the
Half-Earth concept.
About TECH4ALL
TECH4ALL is Huawei's long-term
digital inclusion initiative and action plan. Enabled by innovative
technologies and partnerships, TECH4ALL is designed to enable
inclusion and sustainability in the digital world.
For more information, please visit Huawei TECH4ALL website at
https://www.huawei.com/en/tech4all
Follow us on X at https://x.com/HUAWEI_TECH4ALL
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SOURCE Huawei