SUSHI DROP stands for “SUstainable fiSHeries wIth DROnes data Processing”. The project, funded by the Interreg VA Italy Croatia cooperation programme, is led by the University of Bologna in partnership with other Institutions from Italy and Croatia including the Marche Region, Fisheries Economy Department. SUSHIDROP has developed a customized UUV- unmanned underwater vehicle (named “Blucy”), equipped with advanced instruments to implement a non-invasive environmental assessment of habitats, fish stocks population and, in general, monitoring biodiversity. Three missions have been conducted to confirm the capabilities and performance of “Blucy”, even in adverse marine and weather conditions. During these test runs, the researchers have collected biophysical data, videos, and high-resolution images. Thanks to the advanced technologies of the drone, such as the multibeam and high-resolution camera, it is possible to obtain a complete description of a given underwater area, from a morphological as well as a fauna point of view, highlighting benthic communities, fish and rock formations.
Moreover, the project is building a dedicated open-access database, to maintain and share the scientific data acquired by Blucy during scientific missions conducted in Croatian and Italian waters. The overall ambition is to combine the collected and georeferenced information gathered by the UUVs with information on fishing pressures to better understand the sensitivities of the habitats and to design and implement more effective marine management plans.
Partnership:
- Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna - Department of Electrical, Electronic and Information Engineering "Guglielmo Marconi" in cooperation with the Laboratory of Marine Biology and Fishery Fano – Lead Partner (Italy)
- Marche Region, Fisheries Economy Unit (Italy)
- IOF – Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries (Croatia)
- SUNCE (Association For Nature, Environment And Sustainable Development) (Croatia)
- FLAG Costa dei Trabocchi (Italy)
- Split and Dalmatia County (Croatia)
ASSAM Role: support to the Marche Region, Fisheries Economy Department
Project Duration: January 2019 – December 2022
Project total budget: € 1.710.000
Project website: https://www.italy-croatia.eu/web/sushidrop