RFID to Track Fish Breeding

The researchers can track the development of the broodstock and supervise crossbreeding programme to improve the species through RFID.

Researchers at the Department of Fisheries Science at King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang are implanting RFID chips in three species - Giant Prawn, Nile Tilapia and Walking Catfish, according to reports in RFID News.

The three species are worth about Baht 2 billion a year to the Thai economy.

The team has implanted RFID chips into more than 1000 of the three species over the last year and they are trying to establish the least disruptive way to insert the tags into the tiny juvenile creatures.

To keep the system simple, the tags will only include a serial number to identify the individual. Other information, such as the animal's breed, its growth and diet, will be maintained in a database, RFID News says.

"We will track an animal's growth on a monthly basis, to monitor its overall development. The software will help us analyze the data. If we find that the animal is not growing well, we will implement cross breeding to improve the species," said project leader Rungtawan Panakulchaiwit to RFID News.

The project has received funding from the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre, as well as support from two private RFID companies, Silicon Craft Technology and IE Technology.

After the pilot programme is completed, the research center plans to promote the technology to private aquatic-animal farms across the country to help improve their farm management.