Pink and chum salmon. Photo credit: Scott Smiley.
Digital Observer - Smart Tag
Problem: Alaskan wild caught salmon can suffer from a reputation of inconsistent quality. Salmon quality is a function of many variables including the condition of the fish when landed, handling practices on board the harvesting vessel or tender, handling practices in the processing plant and conditions surrounding the shipment of the fish to the distributor or end user. However, probably the most important variable is the temperature at which the fish is kept. Should the temperature exceed 38°F, fish quality will degrade more rapidly.
Solution & Approach: Digital Observed deployed inexpensive ‘Smart Tags’ that contained a computer chip capable of containing harvester information plus recording some 2,500 individual temperature data points – enough to record every 15 minutes for a year. These were attached to salmon and halibut as they were captured. The smart tags recorded fish temperatures through transport, processing and shipment. The fish were all sent to Plitt Fish Inc. of Chicago, a regional seafood wholesale distributor. There, the smart tags were recovered and the data downloaded. Plitt was excited about the individual harvester information and now uses this in marketing the best quality fish they receive. Information gathered from this project has provided surprising information regarding the opportunities for temperature abuse in the system. The information is being synthesized and will be distributed to interested parties through press releases, presentations and the Marine Advisory Program at UAF.
Principal Investigator: Scott Smiley