AEFishBIT: a smart system to monitor fish activity and welfare

Aquaculture is a sector with a rapid growth and a great potential to provide healthy and sustainable protein for future generations. In this context, and with stricter criteria of farmed animal welfare, it is very important to monitor fish behavior for the simultaneous improvement of the productivity and the welfare of group-housed animals. In the framework of AQUAEXCEL2020 EU project we have developed an ultra-low-power, stand-alone, miniature microsystem (AEFishBIT) with the double aim to combine measurements of physical and metabolic activities. The system was developed using available technology and includes a triaxial accelerometer and a microcontroller packaged in a waterproof container. It has been designed to be externally implanted on fish operculum and by signal filtering, it allows the measurements of physical activity and respiratory frequency.