24/01/2022
MSc by Research Scholarship for UK or EU applicants in the field of Biosciences. AI to assess the welfare of cleaner fish in the salmon industry.
What is this project about?
This project aims to use novel techniques to monitor fish health and welfare. The Centre for Sustainable Aquatic research in collaboration with Visifish are working on AI based tools to detect fish with poor health and welfare.
This is a unique opportunity to tackle one of the biggest challenges of aquaculture: to monitor cleaner fish health and welfare. Cleaner fish such as wrasse and lumpfish are used by salmon industry to combat sea lice and reduce dependence on anti-parasitic chemicals. But very little is known about cleaner fish health and welfare.
What will I be doing?
You will combine know-how on aquaculture and fish welfare, machine vision and deep-learning algorithms to develop and optimise tools to assess and improve the welfare of cleaner fish in salmon cages. The project will provide the first insight into behavioural, health and welfare effects of multi-species aquaculture. This will make the long-term use of cleaner fish in the salmon sector more sustainable and allow Wales (the UK’s largest producer of cleaner fish) to further expand this industry.
Which techniques and skills will I use and develop?
You will develop tools to assess, maintain and optimise cleaner fish welfare through machine learning. You will be using Visifish telematics and AI tools to monitor mortality, feeding frequency, growth rate, as well as individual and population-based behaviour, useful for animal health and welfare assessment. Baseline testing of fish interactions at the CSAR state-of-the art aquaculture facilities using the Lumpfish Operational Welfare Score Index as a benchmark protocol to access welfare.
Which companies are involved in this project?
Visifish is a UK-based company working on machine vision telematics, which uses mathematical models to manage risks in Aquaculture.
Where will I be based?
The work will be based at the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research, Swansea University (Wales) and you will join the FISHBEE group
You will be supervised by Professor Carlos Garcia de Leaniz and Professor Sonia Consuegra. Some of the data have already been collected and you will be able to work remotely. We will encourage you to do lab work and interact with other colleagues when possible.
How long does this scholarship last?
The scholarship provides 1-year funding with a 3 month period to complete the thesis. The achievement of a postgraduate skills development award, PSDA, is compulsory for each KESS II scholar and is based on a 40-credit award.
What is it like to work in the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research?
The Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Research (CSAR) is a centre of excellence founded in 2003 and one of the most comprehensive university based aquatic research facilities in Europe.
Our facilities include £3.5 million state-of-the-art suite of living labs specifically designed to raise and/or optimally maintain a range of aquatic species for use in research and/or teaching. We also have a CRISPR lab, for gene editing work, a comprehensive genetics laboratory and a dry lab with essential equipment (e.g. microscopes, flow hood, centrifuges, etc.).
At CSAR we believe that supporting the Industry, delivering excellent Education and, impactful Research are essential to achieve excellence and shape the next generation of entrepreneurs, researchers, and educators.
• Every year we secure over £150k in research scholarships and awards to support our community of students.
• Our research is published in the top international journals, such as Nature and Reviews in Aquaculture. CSAR researchers are frequently interviewed by national and international news channels (The Guardian, National Geographic, Le Monde)
• We co-create and develop new products for the aquaculture industry. CSAR contributes to the success and expansion of the Welsh aquaculture.
But don’t take it from us, here’s what Arc’hantael Labrière - Year in Industry student had to say about her experience with CSAR:
“CSAR is an amazing learning environment and the University lecturers and staff were very supportive, passionate and really enthusiastic.”
https://www.swansea.ac.uk/bioscience/csar/opportunities/ =on
