Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for what purposes the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science has used artificial intelligence in the last 12 months.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is at the heart of the Government’s plan to kickstart an era of economic growth, transform how we deliver public services, and boost living standards for working people across the country.

Cefas has used artificial intelligence for applying computer vision and machine learning tools to automate data collection processes. This technology enables us to analyse very large quantities of images and videos that would be impossible to achieve manually. Specific applications include:

• Analysing real-time images of zooplankton and phytoplankton to assess the state of the marine environment.
• Assessing drone-captured images of beaches to determine the scale and nature of plastic pollution.
• Supporting fisheries stock assessments through Remote Electronic Monitoring by analysing industry-captured images of catch.
• Analysing video footage to identify and count Sea Pen stocks to inform their management.