Oyster Spat Counter for a Small Aquaculture Farm

A camera counts 10mm oyster seed in murky, moving water — seed a crew was counting by hand, full-time, against a ±20% variance the trade had accepted as normal. The only alternative anyone was selling the farm was a $150,000 imported grader.

• check_circleReal water — murky, uneven light, never holding still
• check_circleCounts had to happen on the spot, out on the farm
• check_circleHad to be accurate enough for harvest planning and the compliance paperwork
• check_circleA $150,000 imported grader was the visible alternative, far beyond what a small farm should need for counting

A camera rig that watches the seed and counts it automatically — no tweezers, no hand-tallying, no imported grader as the only path forward.

1. 01The system spots each tiny oyster, traces its outline, and tells it apart from everything else in frame
2. 02Counts the seed as the camera passes over it
3. 03Handles the seed even when it's clumped together or half-buried

1. 01Built it to work in real water — murky, moving, badly lit
2. 02Tied the camera to simple water-condition sensors
3. 03Built around the camera-counter idea the operator had wanted for 8 years
4. 04Proved it on a working farm, in a pilot

• check_circleAutomatic counting worked in the pilot
• check_circleCounted accurately even with the seed clumped and the water murky
• check_circleShowed a clear path from accepted ±20% variance to a camera that just watches

• check_circleCould free a full-time worker from counting by hand all day
• check_circleLets the farm watch beds too big to ever count by hand
• check_circleAvoids treating a $150,000 imported grader as the only way to modernize counting
• check_circleLive counts help time the harvest and meet the paperwork rules