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Development of "Isaribi Robot"(water drone with light) with fishermen and Robot Development Company to Enhance Sustainability of Fisheries

Professor Yoshiki Matsushita of the Graduate School of Fisheries and Environmental Sciences has developed the "Isaribi Robot"(water drone with light) in collaboration with fishing company Tenyo Maru (Unzen, Nagasaki), Nagasaki Prefectural Fisheries Research Institute, Lighthouse Co., Ltd. (Fukuoka), and Attraclab Co., Ltd. (Saitama). “Isaribi” is an old Japanese expression of light that attracts fish.


The purse seine fishery, which catches mackerels, jack mackerels and sardines, is operated using a number of boats with different roles. In the case of the Tenyo Maru, which fishes for anchovies in Tachibana Bay, Nagasaki, about 30 crews are on board the seven boats, which operate at night. In recent years, however, there has been a shortage of manpower and an aging crew, and there are concerns that if one of the crew members takes a day off, the operation may be disrupted.
The "Isaribi Robot" is a water drone equipped with electric thrusters and a 200 W LED underwater light that emits light inside the net to keep the fish from escaping from the time the net is cast until it is closed. The workload has been greatly reduced thanks to this work by the "Isaribi Robot". We are working on further improvements to make it easier to use in the fishing industry, and are also verifying its durability.