In the far north of Norway, the wild Atlantic salmon is at the heart of a centuries-old tradition—and a fierce fight against an unexpected invader. 🐟
On the legendary Tana River, once Europe’s top salmon hotspot, locals still build wooden traps to sort the fish. But for smaller rivers, muscle power wasn’t enough to stop the surge of Pacific pink salmon, introduced to Russia in the 1960s and now clogging Norwegian waterways. 🤯
That’s where AI comes in. In Finnmark, the Berlevåg Hunting and Fishing Association teamed up with Huawei Norway to launch an AI-powered fish trap. Cameras scan each swimmer in milliseconds, using machine learning to spot native Atlantic salmon and send pink salmon to a holding tank.
In one season alone, this smart system removed over 6,000 pink salmon from a single river. “Ninety-four percent of Atlantic salmon were let through automatically,” says Vegard Kjenner, Huawei Norway’s CTO. That’s a big win for ecology and local passion. 🌊💚
Part of Huawei’s TECH4ALL initiative, the project blends local fishing lore with cutting-edge tech. Fishermen and engineers tweaked designs side by side, ensuring the traps respect salmon instincts and community wisdom.
The mission is far from over. Hundreds of rivers still face pink salmon invasions, and climate-driven floods add unpredictable hurdles. But this mix of tradition, local dedication, and AI ingenuity offers fresh hope that Norway’s salmon fever—or laksefeber—will swim on. 🏞️✨
After all, for the people along these rivers, giving up isn’t an option. Wild Atlantic salmon are more than fish—they’re the soul of a community.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
