Aquacraft Launches "uwotech Fish Count," an AI-Powered Automatic Fish Counting Service from Smartphone Videos
Aquacraft Co., Ltd. launched "uwotech Fish Count" in March 2026, a service that automatically counts the number of farmed fish using AI from smartphone videos. It requires no dedicated equipment or installation, contributing to efficient management and reduced burden in the aquaculture industry.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: March 31, 2026 at 19:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 1, 2026 at 13:39 (18h 39m after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 22, 2026 at 02:53 (493h 13m after Collected)
Aquacraft Co., Ltd. (Higashiyamato City, Tokyo; Representative Director: Makoto Kaji; hereinafter "Aquacraft") launched "uwotech Fish Count" in March 2026, a service that automatically counts the number of farmed fish. This service uses AI to analyze videos of fish flowing through a chute during vaccination, returning counting results within 2-3 business days. A preliminary version is available for free, and no purchase of dedicated equipment or installation work is required.
◆Background of Development
In aquaculture, accurate knowledge of the number of fish in ponds is fundamental for management. Inaccurate counts directly impact management, leading to increased feed costs due to over/underfeeding, changes in shipping plans, and excessive use of vaccines. Feed costs account for 60-70% of management costs in fish farming (according to Fisheries Agency data), and the price of compound feed for aquaculture has continued to rise since 2020, reaching approximately 260,000 yen per ton in November 2023 (Fisheries White Paper FY2023). Therefore, the importance of proper feeding through accurate fish counting has become higher than ever.
Meanwhile, according to the 2023 Fisheries Census (Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries), the number of fishery workers decreased by 20.1% from five years ago to 121,230, and in individual businesses, those aged 65 or older account for 53.7%. As labor shortages and an aging workforce progress in aquaculture, traditional counting work, where thousands to tens of thousands of fish are counted manually, places a significant burden on the現場. The Fisheries Agency also promotes the introduction of ICT and AI-based counting systems as part of "Smart Fisheries," but existing automatic counters (automatic counting machines) require an initial investment of 2 million to 10 million yen, plus installation work for large equipment, making them a high hurdle for small and medium-sized aquaculture businesses. Against this background, Aquacraft developed a new counting method using smartphones and AI to solve the on-site counting challenges identified through the operation of its cloud service for aquaculture, "uwotech pro."