The 12th International Workshop on Marine Technology (MARTECH 2025) was held in Pasaia, Spain, hosted by AZTI, bringing together researchers, industry professionals, and innovators to explore the latest developments in marine technology. This year’s event featured a diverse program covering topics such as robotics, sensing systems, smart platforms, communications, digital twins, AI, and international marine observation initiatives.
Among the contributions, the workshop included the presentation titled:
“Development of a Deep Learning-Based System for Automatic Screening of Turbot (Scophthalmus maximus) Chronic Furunculosis.”
The work addresses one of the key challenges in modern aquaculture: the early and efficient detection of fish diseases at scale. Leveraging recent advances in artificial intelligence, the study introduces a deep learning-based system capable of accurately identifying chronic furunculosis in turbot—a bacterial disease affecting skin and muscle tissues that often goes unnoticed in its early stages.
The system is designed to be:
- Low-cost and scalable, making it suitable for real-world aquaculture operations,
- Transferable to different settings and potentially to other species,
- Fast, with a processing time of under 1 second per fish,
- And accurate, achieving a precision rate of 82% in disease screening.
By integrating this type of AI-powered monitoring into aquaculture workflows, the industry gains a powerful tool for improving animal welfare, reducing economic losses, and enhancing the sustainability of fish farming practices.
MARTECH 2025 also served as a platform to highlight broader initiatives in the blue economy, particularly the role of the Basque Country and the Bay of Pasaia in fostering marine innovation. Supported by local institutions and aligned with a vision of circular economy transformation, the region is emerging as a strategic hub for technological development in marine industries.
