ROBOTIC fish could soon patrol the waters of Anglesey and Gwynedd in a bid to tackle water pollution.
Bridge Marine Science Group, based in Holyhead, will discuss bringing the revolutionary shoal to the area in a forthcoming conference.
BMT Group, who helped develop the £20,000 fish with a robotics team from Essex University, will be one of the main speakers at the seminar at Technium Cast in Bangor.
The 1.5 metre-long fish are due to be tested off the coast of Northern Spain in a project funded by the EU in late 2010 or early 2011.
BMT shoal project manager Luke Speller believes that if the research is successful, robofish could be making their way to ports and harbours in north Wales in the near future.
“If the project is successful the robotic fish could be used to detect pollution in slow moving water such harbours and ports like Porthmadog or Holyhead,” he said.
The fish work as a shoal and used chemical sensors to detect potentially dangerous chemicals in the water.
They then notify the port of the chemical using wi-fi connections.
Business development manager for BMSG, Jason Priest added: “We’ve put together a dynamic and diverse programme which will highlight both the incredible wealth of marine expertise we have here in North Wales as well as how we are helping to overcome some of the current issues which we are confronted with on a daily basis.
For example the use of robotic fish to detect marine pollution is just one solution we’re looking into.”
The conference, held as part of Gwynedd Business Week, will be held at Technium Cast at the Menai Business Park in Bangor on May 9.
To reserve a place, call 01248 718010.