VISTools is the North Sea Fisheries Pilot of Iliad which aims to provide different decision support tools to help the Belgian fleet in their operations. This will be achieved using real-time collection of data and deployment of predictive models. This pilot is currently developing three tools namely – Analytics, Fishing Suitability, and Vessel Routing.

VISTools Analytics shows the real-time fishing operations of a vessel while at sea to the vessel owner on land. This interactive tool gives essential business insights on catches per species and fuel consumption during steaming and fishing. This information can either be aggregated on a trip level or disaggregated to specific hauls and days in a fishing trip. This is achieved by installing sensors on the vessels and coupling this data together to derive operation insights. These sensors include a scale that weighs catches per species, a sensor on the engine that records fuel consumption, a sensor at the net which measures rope length and traction force, and GPS locations. An additional device is installed on the vessel which harmonizes all data coming from the sensors before sending it to the cloud for processing and analysis. The processed information is then visualized on an interactive dashboard through PowerBI.

Through the automatic gathering and processing of data, a vessel can act as a platform for automatic data collection of meteorological and oceanographic parameters. Extra sensors attached to the net start measuring depth, temperature, salinity, and turbidity when the net is immersed during fishing. The data are then automatically transferred to the concentrator when the net is above the sea surface.

VISTools Fishing Suitability is a tool that will forecast the suitable areas to catch common sole (Solea solea) and European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) with 7 days lead time. A Machine Learning (ML) model will be the backbone of this tool. Different environmental predictors and their lags are coupled with catch observations derived from fisheries-dependent sampling and the data coming from VISTools Analytics. This fused data is being used to train, tune, calibrate, and validate several ML algorithms.

VISTools Vessel Routing will guide the skippers to fishing areas through a simulated route that will efficiently use fuel. A model developed by the Foundation for Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH) is being calibrated by the fuel consumption data gathered from VISTools Analytics. The route is simulated with water and weather conditions at sea as input variables.

VISTools can be accessed through the official website. However, due to the sensitive nature of the catch data collected from fishing vessels, access is restricted to registered users only (i.e., vessel owners). Similarly, the Fishing Suitability model's predictions are currently available exclusively to registered users. This restriction is in place because the model relies on sensitive catch data derived from their historical fishing activities.

To support the development and understanding of this robust platform, a comprehensive documentation has been created. It details the step-by-step process of building VISTools, including engaging with end users, integrating sensors, training models, creating visualizations, and incorporating all the essential technical components required to make the digital twin fully operational. You can access the documentation in this link.