Source: NIWA – National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research
But major declines in scallop abundance are being recorded across New Zealand.
This is largely thought to be due to a combination of factors, including overfishing, recruitment limitation and habitat degradation.
The current use of dredges to harvest and survey scallop populations isn’t helping either, with the heavy underwater equipment impacting on both the shellfish and their habitat.
NIWA fisheries scientist Dr James Williams has been working with University of Canterbury experts Professor Richard Green (computer vision) and Associate Professor Michael Hayes (mechatronics) to develop innovative, non-invasive alternatives for surveying scallops and harvesting.
And thanks to a combination of some smart computer algorithms, and thousands upon thousands of little blue scallop eyes, an answer may now be on the horizon.
Independent scientific surveys are essential to the management of a sustainable scallop fishery, says Williams.
The surveys estimate population abundance, distribution and size. Together with information on scallop biology and ecology and the nature and effects of fishing, estimates are generated to determine the number or biomass (combined weight) that can be harvested sustainably.
