BHUBANESWAR: The state government has initiated efforts to introduce an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled pond monitoring and advisory system for fish farming to modernise aquaculture practices, offer fish farmers real-time visibility into pond practices and help boost their production.
Sources said the Fisheries and Animal Resources Development (F&ARD) department will roll out the AI-enabled IoT-based system to monitor freshwater fish ponds in real time and assists farmers and officials in managing pond environments proactively.
To be developed by the department with the help of OCAC and a software developing firm, the system will provide continuous measurement of water quality parameters, and predictive alerts based on advanced analytics and AI-driven advisories that will help farmers maintain optimal living conditions for fish.
An official from the Fisheries department said despite growth of Odisha’s fisheries sector, most fish farmers in the state are still dependent on manual observation methods to monitor pond conditions.
“The manual monitoring is not only labour-intensive but also prone to delays, as farmers check pond conditions at irregular intervals. This often results in late detection of hazardous conditions such as oxygen depletion, ammonia accumulation and pH imbalance affecting their fish production,” he said.
The AI-integrated system, planned to address these issues, will include high-quality aquaculture-grade sensors capable of measuring dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, Total Ammonia Nitrogen (TAN) and other specified parameters to reduce fish mortality, optimise feeding practices, lower operational costs and enable adoption of scientific and climate-resilient aquaculture practices to boost fish production across Odisha. The system will include Odia-based voice interfaces to ensure its accessibility for all user groups.
As part of the initiative, the department has also planned to establish a centralised digital platform to enable district and state-level authorities to receive insights on overall pond health, risk zones, emerging trends and necessary interventions. The digital and AI-integrated monitoring system will be initially piloted in 400 selected ponds and extended to other ponds in phases, sources said.
As per the Fisheries department statistics, the state has more than 16 lakh fishers, fish farmers, women self-help groups and entrepreneurs, who are engaged in the fisheries sector.