This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Accurately determining fish body size and weight is essential for fisheries resource management and seafood processing; however, measuring large quantities of fish is labor-intensive, and results may vary among operators. Although camera-based methods that rely on two-dimensional image analysis have been developed, skipjack tuna caught in distant-water fisheries are typically frozen on board, and the frost that forms on their surfaces strongly reflects light, making accurate shape measurements difficult.
In this study, researchers developed a system based on a three-dimensional (3D) time-of-flight camera that uses reflected infrared light to measure distance and acquire 3D scans of frozen skipjack tuna on a conveyor belt.The camera captures the surface of each fish as dense 3D point-cloud data, enabling accurate reconstruction of the contours of frost-covered fish. From these data, the researchers extracted body width, fork length and body height. The findings are published in the journal Fisheries Research.
Body width is a morphometric parameter that has been difficult to obtain with conventional imaging methods, and its inclusion proved important for improving the accuracy of body-weight estimation. In this proof-of-concept study, acquisition of the 3D point-cloud data was automated, whereas the morphometric parameters were manually extracted. Combining these 3D measurements with machine-learning analysis yielded accurate, noncontact estimates of fish body weight that agreed more closely with measured weight classes than classifications made by experienced market graders.
These findings demonstrate the potential of 3D imaging for noncontact fish measurement and body-weight estimation. With further development toward automated operation, the technology could help reduce labor demands at fisheries and seafood-processing facilities while supporting more efficient and consistent management of marine resources. Ryusuke Miyamoto et al, Non-contact 3D morphometrics and weight estimation of frozen skipjack tuna using time-of-flight point clouds on a conveyor belt, Fisheries Research (2026).
DOI: 10.1016/j.fishres.2026.107820 Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
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