movement of fish, which is important for measuring growth and other factors and also for determining the correct distri- bution of food. “Probably, in the big fish sector – that is, tuna,” says Antonucci, “this could lead to higher profits with respect to current productivity.”
The next ten years In the decade ahead, how much will precision feeding tech- nologies be used around the world in various types of aqua- culture? Will the use of simple precision feeding systems be common, with more advanced ones in place for farming specific aquaculture species? It’s hard for anyone to predict the future, but Antonucci pro- vides some observations about general trends. She says “the adoption of increasingly advanced technologies in the aqua- culture sector, as well as in agriculture, will be directed to- wards preserving the environment. Reducing feed waste, not only from an economic but also from an environmental pollu- tion point of view, will be the focal point of research for the next ten years.”
“I think the shellfish mariculture sector, as well as those of the most-consumed fish species, will adopt increasingly autono- mous and precise systems in the distribution of food, which is one of the most important parameters to monitor to optimise costs and consumption and to protect the environment.” In their paper reviewing precision feeding in aquaculture, Fearghal O’Donncha at IBM Research-Ireland/National Uni- versity of Ireland and Jon Grant at Dalhousie University in Canada (and NSERC-Cooke Industrial Research Chair in Sus- tainable Aquaculture) also put the focus on sustainability. “While the benefits of these advances in husbandry are
apparent, their application to public facing indicators of sus- tainability is critical,” they explain. “The expansion of ‘big data’ in fish farming should have spin-offs for a larger conversation regarding indicators of sustainability in aquaculture.” Sustainability headlined the acquisition in April 2022 by Denmark-based BioMar Group (a maker of high-performance aqua-diets for many farmed species) of AQ1, a company in Tasmania which produces acoustic and optical sensing feed technology for fish and shrimp farming. For 20 years, AQ1 has been developing systems that reduce feed conversion ratio, increase growth, minimise environmental outputs and improving the consistency of size and flesh characteristics at harvest. It has carried out research with almost 30 universi- ties and companies. At the time of the acquisition, BioMar CEO Carlos Diaz explained that “in recent years, we have seen that the use of intelligent feeders in shrimp farming can op- timise feed efficiency, production yield, and sustainability, when introduced alongside data-driven farm management.” In terms of which specific technologies will expand in use, O’Donncha and Grant predict that sensor applications will grow. “A wide variety of sensors are feasible, including optical, acous- tic, and biological sensors for currents, particles, pathogens and harmful algal blooms,” they explain. “Moreover, a similarly-di- verse array of image-based data are being applied to fish farm- ing ranging from direct videography of fish to satellite remote sensing.” They add that the use of drones in data capture is an obvious application of airborne technology. In addition, they note that the development of artificial intelli- gence to analyse images and interpret essential information re- lated to fish behaviour and health is an active area of research.
▶ ALL ABOUT FEED | Volume 30, No. 5, 2022
Precision feed- ing in aquacul- ture includes computer vision for animal moni- toring, environ- mental monitor- ing tools such as sensor networks and robotics.
7
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36
