MobileNet- and attention-based MLP-Mixer architecture for geographical-region recognition of a marine fish (Perciformes: Carangidae) using otolith images

Fishery management is crucial to sustain marine ecosystems by preventing overfishing and ensuring a fair distribution of fishing quotas. Accurately identifying the geographical origins of fish stocks is a key challenge in region-specific management strategies. Otoliths, calcified structures found in the heads of all fish species (except sharks and rays), provide insights into the life history and geographical origins of these fish. Traditional otolith analysis is time-consuming and error-prone because of manual inspection. Our study presents a novel approach using deep learning and computer vision to automate the geographical recognition of fish using otolith images. We propose a model that integrates MobileNet, which is known for its efficiency, with an advanced Mlp-Mixer that incorporates an attention mechanism to extract enhanced features. When tested on a diverse dataset of otolith images from five regions, the proposed model achieved a remarkable 96% accuracy, significantly outperforming traditional methods. This high accuracy demonstrates the potential to revolutionise fishery management by providing a fast, reliable, and automated solution for geographical region identification. In conclusion, the proposed method demonstrates the transformative potential of combining MobileNet and an attention-based Mlp-Mixer for automated fish geographic recognition using otolith images. This innovative method addresses the limitations of traditional manual inspection and paves the way for more effective and sustainable fishery management practices.