Using blue LEDs for more effective harvesting aquatic species

Abstract

The article highlights the development of the complex research on using blue spectrum LEDs, taking into account the literature data and the authors' own research. Reaction to light is shown related to stimulating the food activity of aquatic organisms. This is a complex of factors that determine the behavior of aquatic organisms moving towards a light source. Light in the blue segment of spectrum travels the longest distances from the source, so animals and plants have evolved to respond more to the light in this segment. Therefore, using blue LEDs stimu-lates the entire trophic food chain: phytoplankton (phytoplankton growth due to the effective absorption of light energy by chlorophylls a, b and carotenoids in this spectrum) → zooplankton (attracted to the blue light segment due to the reflex about the food presence) → hydrobionts eating zooplankton (attracted to the blue light segment because of the food reflex) → predatory aquatic organisms (also attracted to the blue light segment due to the food reflex). There has been proposed a method of choosing the LED wavelength to optimize the light source subject to the spectral sensitivity of photoreceptors, increasing the LED life with a decreased current, which helps improve the autonomous source life. Based on the nature-like approach and the choice of the light spectrum, using blue LEDs is found reasonable for fishing traditional light-fishing commercial species (saury and squid), as well as other hydrobionts that haven’t been caught using light before (crab, flounder and smelt). This approach allows to use light for catching other aquatic organisms not previously harvested by using light, as well as optimize light sources in fishing traditional commercial species (kilka).