The aquaculture industry is affected by multiple factors such as natural environment, biological characteristics, and facility conditions, with risks throughout the entire breeding process. These risks may not only lead to massive death of aquaculture organisms and damage to facilities, but also directly erode the economic benefits of farmers. As an intelligent monitoring equipment, underwater aquaculture cameras can provide key technical support for preventing various aquaculture risks through real-time perception and early warning functions.
I. Four Core Risks of Aquaculture
(1) Water Quality Deterioration Risk: The "Invisible Killer" of Aquaculture Organisms
Water quality is a core element of aquaculture, and once it deteriorates, it will directly threaten the survival of aquaculture organisms. Common water quality risks include: first, sudden drop in dissolved oxygen. For example, in summer high temperatures, rainy days, the photosynthesis of algae weakens, or eutrophication of water leads to massive death of algae, which will cause a rapid drop in dissolved oxygen, leading to fish and shrimp floating and suffocation; second, exceeding harmful indicators. Accumulation of residual bait and feces will lead to an increase in ammonia nitrogen and nitrite content, damage the gill function of fish and shrimp, and reduce their disease resistance; third, abnormal algae reproduction. When harmful algae such as cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates break out, they will secrete toxins to pollute the water, and consume a lot of dissolved oxygen at the same time, forming "water blooms" or "red tides", leading to mass death of aquaculture organisms.
(2) Biological Disease Risk: Highly Infectious with Heavy Losses
The diseases of aquaculture organisms spread quickly and are difficult to prevent and control, which is a common high-risk point in the industry. The risks are mainly manifested as: first, bacterial diseases, such as grass carp red-skin disease and shrimp vibriosis, which spread through water, tools or sick fish, and can spread to the entire pond in a short period of time; second, parasitic diseases, such as anchor worms and ringworms attached to the body surface or gills of fish and shrimp, leading to slow growth, decreased immunity, and susceptibility to other diseases; third, viral diseases, such as shrimp white spot syndrome and fish viral hemorrhagic disease, which are highly pathogenic and fatal. Once they break out, they often lead to "total collapse", and there is currently no effective treatment.
(3) Facility Failure Risk: The "Weak Link" of Aquaculture Safety
The stability of underwater and supporting facilities is directly related to the continuity of the aquaculture process, and facility failures are prone to cause chain risks. Specifically, it includes: first, damage to breeding containers. The nets of marine cages are bitten by wind, waves, and marine organisms (such as groupers and sea urchins), or the pond dams and industrial breeding ponds leak, leading to the escape of aquaculture organisms or the invasion of external pollutants; second, equipment failure. Failures of aerators, circulating water pumps, temperature control equipment, etc., will cause insufficient dissolved oxygen in water, stagnant water quality circulation or temperature out of control, affecting the survival of aquaculture organisms; third, failure of supporting systems, such as short circuits of power supply lines and blockage of water purification systems, which cause monitoring and control equipment to fail to operate normally, increasing the probability of other risks.
(4) Environmental Mutation Risk: "External Shocks" That Cannot Be Fully Predicted
Sudden changes in the natural environment often bring unexpected risks to aquaculture, which are difficult to avoid through conventional management. It mainly includes: first, meteorological disasters. Extreme weather such as typhoons, heavy rains, and cold waves will cause sudden rises and falls in water levels and drastic changes in water temperature, leading to stress reactions of fish and shrimp, and may also damage aquaculture facilities; second, hydrological changes. For example, abnormal tides in marine aquaculture and floods in freshwater aquaculture will carry a lot of sediment and pollutants into the aquaculture area, destroying the water ecological balance; third, invasion of alien species. Ferocious fish, harmful algae, etc., enter the aquaculture area through water flow and human operations, competing for resources with aquaculture organisms or spreading diseases.
II. Underwater Aquaculture Cameras: The "Intelligent Defense Line" for Preventing Aquaculture Risks
In response to the above risks, underwater aquaculture cameras can detect risk signs in advance through the combined capabilities of "visual monitoring + data perception + intelligent early warning", striving for response time for farmers and reducing risk losses from the source.
(1) Real-Time Monitoring of Water Quality Dynamics to Prevent Deterioration Risks
The multi-parameter water quality sensor integrated in the underwater aquaculture camera can continuously collect key indicators such as dissolved oxygen, ammonia nitrogen, pH value, and turbidity 24 hours a day, and the data is transmitted to the terminal platform in real time. When dissolved oxygen is lower than 3mg/L, ammonia nitrogen is higher than 0.5mg/L and other safety thresholds, the system will automatically alarm immediately. Farmers can timely turn on aeration equipment, add new water or put water quality regulators to avoid continuous deterioration of water quality; at the same time, high-definition lenses can intuitively observe changes in water color (such as blue-green water when cyanobacteria break out), abnormal number of plankton and other phenomena, helping farmers to judge water quality trends in advance and take targeted preventive measures.
(2) Accurately Capturing Biological Abnormalities to Prevent and Control Disease Risks
With 4K high-definition imaging and AI image recognition technology, underwater aquaculture cameras can clearly capture the swimming posture, body surface state and feeding behavior of aquaculture organisms. When it is found that fish and shrimp have abnormal swimming such as swimming alone, spinning, and rubbing the bank, or have disease signs such as red spots, ulcers, and parasite attachment on the body surface, the system automatically marks and pushes early warning information. Farmers can timely isolate sick fish, sample and test, and use drugs in a targeted manner to prevent the spread of diseases; in addition, the camera can also monitor changes in feeding intensity - if fish and shrimp suddenly reduce their food intake, it may be a precursor to disease, reminding farmers to check risks in advance.
(3) 24/7 Monitoring of Facility Status to Avoid Failure Risks
Underwater aquaculture cameras realize all-round supervision of aquaculture facilities through the "fixed-point monitoring + cruise scanning" mode. In cage aquaculture, cameras cruise regularly along the netting, identify problems such as netting damage and excessive attachments through image comparison, and promptly remind repairs or cleaning to prevent the escape of aquaculture organisms; in industrial aquaculture, the lens focuses on key equipment such as aeration discs and circulating water pipes, and observes the intensity of aeration bubbles and water flow speed in real time. If it is found that bubbles are reduced and water flow is stagnant, it will immediately alarm to prompt equipment failure, avoiding secondary risks caused by equipment failure; at the same time, the facility operation images recorded by the camera can be used as a reference for daily maintenance to check potential failure risks in advance.
(4) Assisting in Responding to Environmental Mutations to Reduce Impact Risks
In the face of environmental mutations such as meteorology and hydrology, underwater aquaculture cameras can capture relevant signs in advance and assist in emergency disposal. For example, before a typhoon arrives, observe the water level change and facility shaking through the lens to help farmers judge the key points of reinforcement; after heavy rain, timely observe the water turbidity and sediment deposition to guide the opening of purification equipment; in addition, the camera can also find alien organisms (such as ferocious fish) entering the aquaculture area, reminding farmers to take measures such as trapping and isolation to reduce the risks brought by alien organisms.
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