KarunaNews Story

AI can now be used to spot farmed salmon escapees in Norwegian rivers. This breakthrough, highlighted in Biology Methods and Protocols, has researchers excited about new conservation strategies for the iconic Atlantic salmon. Norway, known for its wild salmon runs, has seen these natural populations crash by over 50% since the 1980s. Scientists have now trained a machine learning model using 90,000 images of salmon scales, distinguishing farmed fish, which show "evenly spaced, fast-growth rings," from their wild counterparts with over 95% accuracy. This advancement might just be the tool environmentalists need, making the labor-intensive process of identifying these fish way quicker and more cost-effective. It's a game-changer in the battle to protect wild salmon populations, potentially boosting conservation monitoring in ways not previously possible.