Drone orthomosaics for remote detection of Pacific oysters (Kingsbridge Estuary, UK)

A field campaign was carried out at two distinctive intertidal cases at Kingsbridge Estuary, UK. Drone images were collected around low tide on each site of the estuary selected by the high number of Pacific oysters reported and their very different characteristic landscapes of mudflats and rocky shore. Drone images were collected using a DJI Phantom4 Pro v2.0 in a pre-planned grid mission using the ”DJI GS Pro” mission planner software. Photos were acquired at 10 m altitude (resulting in a pixel size of ∼0.3 px/cm) with a front overlap ratio of 80% and a side overlap of 70%.

The two sites included in this work are:• Site A: Collapit Creek mudflats. An area of approximately 1.67 ha intertidal mudflat was surveyed on 13th May 2022 (lat, lon = 50.259245, -3.771041).• Site B: Scoble Point rocky shore. The intertidal region that follows the shoreline for approximately 250 m was surveyed on 16th May 2022, Figure 3 (50.240164, -3.755421).