MASFIT

MASFIT (Multi-Agent System for Fish Trading) is a Take-up Action type project within the IST project of the European community, and more precisely the EUTIST-AMI
cluster, the technological target of which is to implement the intelligent agents technology in the wholesale fresh fish markets.

The wholesale fish markets carry out their sales by means of the traditional Dutch auction system, with the potential buyers physically present in the market hall. This project aims to develop a system that allows customers to "buy remotely and in several wholesale
fish markets at a time," while maintaining the traditional auction in the wholesale fish market halls, using intelligent agents and the infrastructure provided by the Internet.

To use this system, it is necessary that the wholesale fish markets have an automated auction system, to which this technology will then be adapted.

The project is developed in three separate areas:

• The wholesale fish market and its auction system, in order to allow access by the intelligent agents.
• The purchasing party, to provide it with a management environment for its intelligent purchase agents.
• The server centre, which will manage the interaction between the wholesale fish markets and the purchase agents.