The World Tuna Trade Conference & Exhibition (TUNA 2024), organized by international government organization INFOFISH, was held in Bangkok, Thailand, from May 20 to 22. Kazuhiro Shimura, Dentsu Creative Director and TUNA SCOPE project leader, took to the stage for the second year in a row to speak about advances in AI and the outlook for the project.
The international conference, the world’s largest devoted to tuna, brings together fisheries ministers from around the world, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization officials, researchers, and others involved in the global fisheries industry.
The theme of this year’s confab was “Advancing Blue Transformation, Sustainable Development and Innovation through the Global Tuna Industry.” The gathering featured speakers from more than 40 countries.
Developed by a Dentsu creative team, TUNA SCOPE is an AI-based system that incorporates tuna evaluation skills honed by seasoned Japanese experts. As the system continues to learn on the basis of appraisal data collected from Japan’s domestic fish markets in Toyosu, Yaizu, and other locations, as well as from fishery processing facilities across Japan, it is attracting growing attention as an example of the practical application of AI.
In his talk, Shimura touched on recent advances in TUNA SCOPE and the revolutionary changes that AI-based quality assessment will bring the tuna trade.
“Using AI to ensure fair, straightforward grading will eliminate the need for haggling among sellers and buyers, making the global tuna business smoother and more vibrant. I would be delighted were Japan’s advanced standards of quality assessment to spread through the power of technology, and thereby create a universal language for quality while more firmly connecting Japan to the world.”
During his address, Shimura discussed the impact TUNA SCOPE has had abroad, as well as the efforts that were made to develop a new AI model that can detect fatty tuna (toro) from the cross-section of a bluefin tuna’s tail.
Up until now, doing so had proved difficult, he noted, before giving examples of the system’s introduction at Japanese fishery processing facilities, and its commercialization—as AI Tuna—at domestic supermarkets and sushi chains.
Shimura’s vision of accelerating digital transformation in the fisheries industry by involving players from around the world was well received. Acknowledgement from government officials and people in the fisheries industry abroad was positive, with his presentation even leading to discussion of new partnerships.
In the five years since its launch, the global business spawned by TUNA SCOPE has evolved and grown. “We will continue taking on the challenge of expanding its influence,” Shimura promised the audience, “in a bid to help solve the many issues the global fisheries industry is facing.”
Related Link
Dentsu’s Kazuhiro Shimura Speaks at TUNA 2024 (Japanese language only)
