The use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and drones to manage fishery resources is emerging as a new field of technological application, and expectations are high that new demands for AI and other technologies will be actively developed, particularly in rural and fishing villages.

The Ministry of Science and ICT (Minister Lim Hye-sook), Sinan County, Jeollanam-do (Governor Park Woo-ryang), and the National Intelligence Information Society Agency (Director Moon Yong-sik, NIA) held a performance report meeting on the 13th for the ‘Tidal Flat Fishery Smart Octopus Operation Support and Resource Management Service’ in Sinan County (Docho-myeon), which was promoted as a smart village project this year, and conducted a final inspection of the construction contents, including an on-site demonstration.

The Smart Village Project is a project that has been promoted since 2019 to improve productivity, enhance safety, and discover convenient living services in rural and fishing villages by utilizing intelligent information technology (ICT). The Ministry of Science and ICT selected and promoted smart village projects in five regions, including the Shinan County project this year.

In the case of Shinan County, octopus is the main source of income for fishermen, but the catch has been continuously decreasing due to recent population decline, aging, marine pollution, and overfishing, making efficient management of octopus resources urgently necessary.

The Ministry of Science and ICT and Shinan County are using unmanned drone footage and artificial intelligence (AI) to solve the difficulties faced by fishermen and efficiently estimate and monitor octopus resources. We developed and promoted a ‘drone-based tidal flat octopus resource estimation’ service.

Specifically, after photographing the tidal flat fishing grounds using an unmanned drone, a precise topographic map of the octopus distribution was created, and an artificial intelligence learning data platform for approximately 60,000 octopus fragments was built.

By utilizing this, any fisherman can easily observe the tidal flat environment and check the distribution of octopus through the web and smartphone app (Smart Shinan).

In addition, we developed an 'Internet of Things-based illegal octopus fishing monitoring and alarm system construction' service and established an alarm system to monitor the activities of external illegal fishing vessels through intelligent CCTV.

By attaching IoT + GPS sensors to approximately 50 fishing boats belonging to the Docho-myeon fishing village, they will be able to identify unregistered vessels and send warning alarms when abnormal fishing operations are detected, and real-time monitoring will also be possible through the 'Smart Shinan' service.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Science and ICT and Shinan County plan to expand and distribute the 'smart octopus service' discovered and proven through the smart village project throughout Shinan County in conjunction with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' 'tidal flat coastal sea ranch creation project'.

Kim Haeng-gyu, a bare-handed octopus fisherman from Docho-myeon, said, “Currently, as fishermen are aging, octopus fishing is becoming increasingly difficult, and there is ongoing friction with local residents due to indiscriminate overfishing by non-local fishermen.” He added, “This government-supported project will allow us to easily check octopus production and eradicate illegal fishing, so local residents have high expectations.”

Park Yoon-gyu, Director of the Information and Communication Policy Bureau at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said, “The smart octopus service is a representative example of the regional digital new deal, and we will actively cooperate with related ministries and local governments, including the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, to improve the productivity of the entire tidal flat fishing grounds and expand it to other regions.” He said, “We plan to continue to discover tasks based on the needs of local residents to improve living conditions and increase productivity, focusing on rural areas that have been excluded from digital transformation.”