Face scanning isn’t just for humans anymore.
Norwegian fish farming giant Cermaq plans to roll out facial recognition technology at salmon farms that scan each fish’s head for sea lice, Bloomberg Businessweek reported Monday. Each individual fish will reportedly have a medical record that’s tracked over time.
The spread of sea lice in salmon farms is a big problem that could cost the global salmon industry $1 billion annually, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Cermaq’s system uses cameras enabled for 3D scanning, which can tell salmon apart by remembering the pattern of spots around the fish’s eyes, mouth and gills. If the salmon has lice or skin disease, the infected fish will reportedly be separated and treated.
While farming industries may see facial recognition as a way to increase production, its use on people by law enforcement has raised privacy concerns. Some companies have also developed facial recognition technology for school security and airport security.
Cermaq is testing the fish facial recognition with Norwegian tech company BioSort. And Cermaq isn’t the only farming company that’s testing facial recognition technology. US agriculture giant Cargill is also trying out the tech on cows to adjust feeding components in order to increase milk production, according to Bloomberg Businessweek.
Cermaq, BioSort and Cargill didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
