AI System Detects Marine Wildlife Trafficking in Airport X-Rays

Dr. Vanessa Pirotta and her team at Macquarie University developed an AI system that identifies shark fins, dried seahorses, and sea cucumbers in airport CT scans. The tool uses existing x-ray data from security systems to detect marine wildlife contraband hidden in luggage. The research was published in Frontiers in Ocean Sustainability. The AI improves detection accuracy over manual inspection by flagging suspicious items based on shape and density patterns.