Underwater cameras that pan and tilt have brought big efficiencies to fish farming; the next generation of artificial intelligence-backed equipment will take feed efficiency at salmon farms to another level, believes equipment supplier AKVA group.
New AI sensors will count uneaten feed through images and create the first auditable record of free consumption, said Andrew Campbell, COO of Akva's international business. This will lead to another lead in productivity, given that the industry currently still relies on humans to observe fish behavior, he said.
"This creates an auditable trail for the single biggest farm expense," Campbell said at Skretting’s AquaVision conference. "We are at a historical moment in the digital transforming of fish farming."
Salmon feed can account for up to 50% of operating costs for farming companies, prompting some of the world’s largest farmers to also branch into feed production. Salmon farmers rely on feed producers to run complex algorithms that optimize formulas based on ingredient cost, availability, and nutritional value.
Besides reducing cost, a reduction in feed waste would bring multiple benefits to salmon farmers. They could reduce the build-up of unused feed on sea beds, potentially improving fish welfare. A reduction in overall consumption would also alleviate the strain of using marine ingredients such as fishmeal and fish oil on the industry.
The likes of Akva are vying with start-ups in feed automation technology such as AquaByte, which are bringing AI to the fish farming spacing, offering tools that count sea lice, estimate biomass, and detect feed. CageEye, another start-up -- that has received funding from venture capital firm Aqua-Spark -- uses acoustic technology to provide key data on fish welfare and to optimize feeding processes.
Current technology relies on a mix of human skill and some automation, Campbell said. Computers do some counting of uneaten feed pellets and generate recommendation messages to increase or lower the dispersion of pellets, he said. Companies such as Mowi, the world’s largest salmon farmer, have already announced they are working on machine learning and feed automation as a core part of their farming strategy.
Mowi, as part of this strategy, has signed an agreement with Google parent company Alphabet to apply machine learning to fish pens. Mowi mentioned feed control as one of the benefits of the Tidal X project with Google. Cermaq and Scale AQ, meanwhile, have developed a new sea-pen concept called iFarm that uses sensors to individually recognize fish.
Akva's new AI-led technology will have the ability to merge data collected from several underwater cameras to provide a complete picture of conditions and fish appetite in the sea pen, Campbell said. The company is currently pilot testing the technology in 20 farms across five countries, he said.
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October 20, 2020 at 04:02PM
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Akva: Artificial intelligence will take feed efficiency to another level - Undercurrent News
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