Precision Aquaculture Framework for Remote Mussel Growth Monitoring with IoT Blockchain and Cloud Integration

Aquaculture is being revolutionized by the Internet of Things (IoI’). Connected sensors and devices enable real-time monitoring of critical parameters such as temperature and water quality, enhancing efficiency, sustainability, and product quality. The rapid integration of IoT technologies into precision aquaculture highlights significant potential for advancements in the management and monitoring of marine farms. However, there is a pressing need to improve the hardware for hosting monitoring sensors, and there is concern over the security of the transmitted data when designing centralized systems. Towards this, we present and develop a novel Mussels Growth Tracker system, which is designed to enhance the real-time monitoring and management of mussel growth. The system is equipped with location sensors and a load cell to sense the weight of mussel growth, and utilizes a blockchain-based cryptographic algorithm, specifically Secure Hash Algorithm 256-bit (SHA-256), and LoRaWAN to secure and transmit the collected data in a transparent way. The prototype is developed in the context of the EU Project FOLOU. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the system as it can achieve a Global Navigation Satellite System position fix within 85 seconds and maintain data integrity through secure Elliptic Curve Digital Signature Algorithm processing in an average of 4.6 seconds. These results showcase its capability to provide secure mussel growth measurements and remote monitoring capabilities, contributing to sustainable aquaculture practices and indicating its potential for broader sensor integration and application.