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Mussel Lease Tracking and Management System
Coles Mussel Farms
Kensington RR # 6, PEI
C0B 1M0
Prepared by: Murphy Environmental Services, Kensington PEI
Summary Report Feb. 2010
Table of contents
- Name of Proponent
- Introduction
- Project Overview and Objectives
- Description of Technology
- Discussion
- Project Costs
- Project Summary
Name of Proponent
Coles Mussel Farms
David Cole Owner / Manager
Kensington RR #6, C0B 1M0
Phone: 902- 886- 2346 cell 902 888 7033
Fax number: 902-886-2335
E mail: david.cole@pei.sympatico.ca
Project Management: Murphy Environmental Services, 24 Andrews Dr Kensington.
Project Expertise: David Cole, John Paquet, and Staff of Coles Mussel Farms
Baseline Business Geographics Inc., Frank MacEachern and Brian Gallant
Introduction
The Cultured Mussel Industry has enjoyed remarkable growth since it original development in the early 1980’s on Prince Edward Island. Over this time market development has extended its reach to all corners of the world, with this food safety issues requires a more elaborate tracking system to assure the consumer, the mussel products are safe and that those involved are accountable. The requirement to trace the origins of its shellfish products has forced the industry to look to technology in creating and maintaining a record and in a format that can be recovered quickly and cost effectively.
This project has combined technologies deployed in other industries with GIS, GPS, and wireless technologies to create a system that has the ability to trace the origin of the cultured mussel from seed to market. This same technology can created a management tool that informs farm managers of the activities applied to the crop during its culture on a line by line basis and in real time. This technology will increase mechanization and operational efficiency on the farm, it is anticipated that this management system will increase productivity on the farm by as much as 15 %, through increased operator efficiency and consistency at the farm level.
Coles Mussel Farms has positioned itself well by developing this technology to meet the requirements of a Product Traceability Program, expected to in place early 2010 a requirement by Fisheries and Oceans, Canadian Food Inspection Agency David Cole owner / manager has been involved in the mussel industry for more than thirty years and has expanded his business interests over that time. This commitment to the mussel industry positions him as one of the top five mussel producers / processors in Atlantic Canada. Coles Mussel Farms has been successful to date, with a farm staff greater than 20 people on a full time basis, 60 or more seasonally and 13 operational platforms the job is very demanding.
Project Overview and Objective
The project objective was to develop a FRIDs’, (Radio Frequency Identification), based tracing and management system that would allow Farm Center Managers to record in an electronic data base all activities from seed collection, rearing, to harvest involved in the culture of the blue mussels on and ongoing basis.
Coles Mussel Farms conducted some research on the RFIDs’ during the winter of 2009 following submission of the application. This research was designed to access the impacts of 0 degree C water temperatures on the radio tags and if the receiver could pick up the signal during the cold water period. It was discovered that the tags and the detection system was unlikely to work effectively on the longer term over winter. This research was conducted out side the project and at no cost to the project.
The decision was taken to deploy a different technology and one that would not be impacted by temperature and harsh environmental conditions. The technology chosen was a GPS based platform and attention focused on this as the project continued.
The objective of the original project design was maintained. The new method allows data to be collected using GPS technology on location, (lease #) time, date and activity and allow the crew chief on the service boat to select from a menu the activity preformed at any given time. Using mobile and wireless technology this information can be relayed to a central data base equipped with back up capability in real time. The raw data will be transformed with integration software ware into visual display graphics located at central office. This can include pictures, description of activity preformed, the time required to perform the task on a line by line basis.
This system has the ability to record time, date and location and source of seed, and using follow through menus the product can be traced from seed collection to the socking site from there to the grow out area until harvest. The system allows farm management the opportunity to monitor in real time all activities preformed on an identified line, including buoying up, lime treatment, restocking, harvest or other activities performed during the culture period. Remote monitoring of the many activities will allow management to identify operator efficiencies; this can increase productivity at the farm level.
The harvest activity, when chosen by the boat captain triggers a second data pathway electronically to the Processing Plant, Prince Edward Aqua Farms from there the protocols for tracing product are applied through to the final consumer.
Description of Technology
The Aquaculture Leasing Section of Fisheries and Oceans Canada the Aquaculture Leasing Authority on Prince Edward Island deploys Map Info as its operational software. Map Info is a powerful mapping and geographic analysis application that allows its users to visualize the relationship between data sets and geography. Using Map Info as the operating platform allowed the project to access all the lease data for the farm. The lease data with GPS coordinates was provide by Fisheries and Oceans and formed the base upon which the Lease Tracking and Management System was built.
Data Management and Backup is supported by GBM Pro v8 Soft Ware and allows transfer and integration of data from local and remote devices. Using this software data gathered in the field is relayed to the central data base in real time via wireless technology.
The wireless technology used to input data from the lease or remote location is the HTC Touch Diamond Cellular Phone. This unit is a compact hand held that is GPS enabled and programmable to allow the boat captains to in- put data and record the activity performed during any visit to the lease. The unit has features designed to enable the system design people to crate a drop down menu from which the captains can select the many activities such as hanging socks, buoying up, describing type of buoy, or treatment applied to any line identified by the unit. All of these activities are recorded on the hand held unit the data is relayed back to the base station in real time or set to 15 minute intervals for example. The HTC devise and the GPS technology installed in the unit allows the operator to identify its position with an accuracy range of plus or minus two meters.
In order to set up the system and use GPS technology to identify the individual lines it is necessary to locate the lines and establish waypoints at each end. These points are identified by farm staff using a second hand held devise. The unit was a Trimble GeoExplorer 2005 Series. This unit combines a Trimble GPS receiver with a field computer running on Micro Soft Windows Mobile software and is capable of sub meter accuracy. The field data is collected and down loaded into the base station operating system and backed up.
Note; each of the lines located within the lease, the GPS waypoints are highlighted at the end of the line. This activity is carried out only once. The farm management system is now operational within this Sur – 0503B – L lease. A closer view of the lines will be outlined in the picture below. This picture shows a line with the GPS coordinates at the end with an area highlighted on both sides of the line. This is referred to as a buffer zone, as the boat operator sails up to the line and engages the hand held HTC unit, the line will be identified on the screen the time, location date, and activity to be performed can be selected from the menu.
The lines are numbered with separation between each. As the operator conducts the activity such as harvest the boat can be monitored as it moves down the line. The time to complete any task is available, and the operator of boat will be known, this feature allows farm management record all activities on the lease and who was responsible for the work done. Each hand held will be assigned to a crew chief and can be moved from on platform to another. The hand held HTC will display a menu and the operator can select the activity. The image on the hand held appears on the left and using a stylus the boat captain can choose, the data is sent wirelessly to the base station.
Map Info Soft Ware allows each to the options to be recorded on a data layer, the data is stored and can be recovered at any time. Farm Management can request a record of all lines on a lease that have been buoyed up, treated and double socked, for example, this data can be recovered and displayed using colors or symbols for each treatment. Any number of queries can be can be made and displayed, by separate year class as well. Pictures may be taken at any location on the lease, time, date will be recorded this feature can be valuable to monitor level of infestation of Invasive Species. Any of the data can be recovered at any time by building queries according to the need at the time, or the system is designed to manage and recover data based on Thematic Maps this feature allows the manger to access selected information at the stroke of a key.
Discussion
The Mussel Lease Tracking and Management System as designed is a powerful tool capable of following the culture of any shell fish seed stock from collection to processing and packaging. Existing technologies within the processing packaging and distribution industry are capable of tracing the product to the final consumer. The system is a significant step forward in an attempt to stream- line the collection and management of data at the mussel farm level. The system is capable of capturing and creating a record of times, dates, and by whom any activity was conducted on any leases belonging to Coles Mussel Farms this information is available at the stroke of a key. This data collection system is capable of recording and managing all records with out the need to transpose any data from log books, phone messages etc into an electronic format.
The system designed to be user friendly with simple key strokes and the use of drop down menus the boat captains can record the tasks performed in a few seconds. The data input system, HTC, is located on the dash of the working platform and protected from the elements by an Aquapac, Waterproof Phone / GPS Case. Care was taken during design and equipment selection to use robust technologies for the mobile units, cost, replacement cost and features were all considered. The HTC Touch Diamond was selected for those reasons.
Locating and establishing GPS waypoints for each line was accomplished using a hand held devise with sub- meter accuracy. The field data is collected and down loaded into the base station operating system, this activity is done only once unless the lease is reconfigured in the future. The cost of this unit is in the order of 8 K but can be used on the farm to locate lease marker buoys or other tasks needing accurate placement. A unit like this can be rented by the day or week and may better suit your specific needs.
Baseline Business Geographics Inc., Charlottetown PEI is the major contractor and supplier of the needed software and training for office and field staff. Frank MacEachern and Brian Gallant were very helpful and assisted in equipment selection and training components. Their expertise and competence in Map Info and GBM software has enabled the project to meet its objectives. Their ability to create multi layered thematic maps and quarries have only enhanced the value of this tracing and management system for Coles Mussel Farms in the day to day operation of the farms.
While complete acceptance implementation of this management system is ongoing the comfort level is increasing over time. It is expected to take at least one full rearing cycle to fully implement and realize the power and flexibility this system can provide in the operation and day to day management of a large mussel rearing operation. Senior Management was asked early in the design of this project, what is the single most important outcome of this project? The answer was “Accountability”. This system has the capacity to deliver that with out doubt.
The ability to trace the origin of seed from collection site to grow out and sale of final product and with the opportunity recover this information with a few key strokes will not be appreciated until some day a Food Safety and Security issue arises.
Portions of the lease holdings belonging to Coles Mussel Farms in the Malpeque Bay area have not been surveyed by farm staff and will be completed during the 2010 rearing season. This data can be down loaded onto the server without further training or changes to the operating system. The system can be up dated and modified with out significant formal adjustments as the farm expands or if leases are reconfigured.
Project Costs
Coles Mussel Farms was a successful applicant in its request for assistance under the Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP) to under write the research and development costs associated with the development of this management and tracking system. The hard ware and soft ware components are available from many suppliers of IT and wireless equipment. Your specific requirements will depend on size of operation. The system is based on two soft ware platforms Map Info Professional, GBM Enterprise Manager and GBM Mobile packages. Licensing fees will depend on the number of wireless hand held units required in your operation. Project development, set up and support will be some what standard for any operation. Training is a very important component that must be included in any project plan. Office and field staff will require some instruction on the operation and management of the system to appreciate to how powerful and valuable this tool can become in the operation and maintenance of any aquaculture business. Field staff will likely need 4 to 6 hours of training as the hand held units are programmed to operate on very simple drop down menus. The field information can be relayed to main office on an ongoing basis or at the end of day.
| Mussel Lease Management Project | Cost | In Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Hard Ware, office computer /back up | $ 4,500 | |
| Soft Ware Map Info, GBM Enterprise Manager /Mobile | $ 23,500 | |
| Project Set Up and script writing | $15,400 | |
| Training and Support | $7,200 | |
| Project Management and GPS mobile hand held rental | $ 5,500 | |
| Total Project Development Costs | $ 56,100 | $ 25,000 |
The costs while not insignificant may vary from one operation to another. Coles Mussel Farms can be considered a medium to large operation and looks forward to have this management system in place starting with the 2009 crop year. Data from earlier crop years is added to the data base but will not include all activities performed prior to implementation of the management system.
Summary
In summary the Mussel Lease Tracking and Management Project meets the objectives as set out in the application to Fisheries and Oceans Aquaculture Innovation and Market Access Program (AIMAP). The Project Management Team is confident the technologies deployed in this project will provide Coles Mussel Farms with a valuable tracing and management tool well into the future. This system can be applied industry wide as the technology is available and access is based on purchasing licensing fees for the soft ware. Coles Mussel Farms is medium to large shell fish rearing operation according to North American standards, the system can be expanded with a small additional capital cost. The technology can be adapted to smaller operations as well the costs for the mobile hand sets will be reduced for example, but office computers and server will be some what similar.
Food Safety and Security is the corner stone on which the PEI Shell Fish Industry is based, Harmful Algae Blooms have been part of its history. The benefits of a real time management tool can assist in the monitoring operational viability of the many activities at the farm level.
It is anticipated that anyone in other sectors of the Shell Fish Industry including oysters, quahogs and clams as well as the commercial lobster fishery may benefit from this monitoring technology.
