Estancia leads WV with AI-powered fish monitoring

By Mariela Angella Oladive

The Municipality of Estancia has become the first local government unit in Western Visayas to adopt FISH-I, an artificial intelligence-powered system for fish census and reef assessment.

The project is being implemented by the Department of Science and Technology in Western Visayas through its Community Empowerment Through Science and Technology program.

It aims to improve coastal resource management by enabling faster and more accurate fish monitoring.

FISH-I is designed for fish visual census and rapid reef fish assessment using an underwater camera system integrated with hardware and software that semi-automates monitoring.

The system identifies fish species, estimates biomass, measures fish size, and assesses population abundance through recorded underwater footage.

Unlike traditional manual surveys that require prolonged dives, divers only need to deploy and retrieve the camera system underwater.

The footage is then uploaded to the FISH-I platform for data processing and analysis, reducing risks to divers while improving efficiency and minimizing human error.

“This initiative is expected to help local government units and coastal managers in science-based decisions through improved, data-driven fisheries policies and strengthen marine protection by helping evaluate and improve Marine Protected Areas (MPAs),” DOST-6 said in a statement.

The system is also considered eco-friendly because it allows marine life to be observed in its natural habitat without direct disturbance.

FISH-I was developed by the University of the Philippines Diliman with support from the Department of Science and Technology – Philippine Council for Industry, Energy and Emerging Technology Research and Development.

The project is being implemented by DOST-Iloilo in partnership with the Estancia local government unit and supported by the Iloilo Provincial Government’s Local Economic Development and Investment Promotions Office.

Additional partners include the barangay governments of Bayuyan and Gogo, the Estancia Fishermen Cooperative, and the Estancia P4MP Federation of Farmers Association.

Known as a premier commercial fishing hub in northern Iloilo, Estancia is leveraging innovation to safeguard its blue economy and sustain marine resources for future generations.