Gael Force unveils new safe features for extended barge range

Feed barge builder Gael Force Group has revealed its 2022 Sea Safe features and enhancements on its extended SeaFeed barge range, which are made from concrete and steel. All SeaFeed barges are equipped with their SeaFeed software, which is a feed system that enables the farm manager to have control over how their fish are fed.

The range was unveiled ahead of their exhibiting at Aquaculture UK, which will be held at Aviemore, in Scotland, from May 3-5. Current barges in Gael Force's portfolio include their 150T to 300T SeaFeed steel barges and 600T SeaFarm steel barge, of which they are adding their range of 400T to 500T SeaFeed steel barge designs. The barges are designed and built by a well-established and skilled team based in Scotland.

The 2022 Sea Safe features boast a range of features which include a smart new hatch alarm system which is connected to all doors and openings – meaning if doors are left open, the alarm system will notify the operator – robust DNV-compliant watertight doors and hatches, and watertight cable glands, among others.

350T concrete barge

Their optional hybrid power systems., which are supplied by Fjord Hybrid, can be installed to existing barges, meaning fish farms are able to run their generators for around three hours a day as opposed to the traditional 24 hours. This can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90 percent and reportedly, extend the lifetime of power supply systems by up to 60 percent.

Group Managing Director Stewart Graham explains, "With the price of steel trading at peak levels, continuing to provide our customers with an economical choice of reliable, stable concrete feeding platforms remains important for the safety of farmers and cost-efficient husbandry of fish.

"Our feed barges have gradually evolved over many years as fish farming methods have advanced, however, by modernising our concrete designs within the SeaFeed range and implementing our collection of 2022 Sea Safe features we see this as a significant leap forward, building a stronger more competitive offering in support of our customers."

Visitors to Aquaculture UK will be able to visit Gael Force's stand and attend the unveiling of the 2022 Sea Safe features.

Cooke Aquaculture recently deployed their first hybrid feed barge in partnership with Gael Force and can be read about, HERE.

For more information on Gael Force Group visit their website, HERE.

New project seeks to establish sustainable shrimp production in the UK

A new project to facilitate sustainable shrimp production in the UK has just received a multi-million pound funding boost. The project, which will be led by experts from the University of Exeter in collaboration with the University of Reading and Rothamsted Research, will be looking to establish sustainable shrimp farming in the UK.

The UK£2 million in funding was given by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), as part of its Strategic Priorities Fund (SPF), which aims to increase research and innovation and respond to opportunities accordingly. This is part of the UKRI's UK£14 million injection into research that values human health and the environment.

Professor Rod Wilson from Exeter's Biosciences department will be the project's lead, titled "Transformational blueprint for a blue economy on UK terrestrial farms: integrating sustainable shrimp production in a changing agricultural landscape.'" Alongside Professor Wilson will be Professor Ian Bateman from Exeter's Land, Environment, Economics and Policy (LEEP) institute.

Traditional production methods for shrimp rely on unsustainable practices, such as the destruction of mangrove forests that are key in the removal of CO². Overseas production methods can lead to local biodiversity problems and the shrimp containing residue that proves harmful to human health. By aiming to establish the UK as a "terrestrial blue economy," the project will be aiming to demonstrate the health and environmental benefits of indoor, home-grown shrimp.

This will be done by introducing a risk-free, healthier and sustainable supply chain for consumers and encouraging terrestrial farms in the UK to implement practices that aren't harmful to the environment and human health. Shrimp farming production will be co-located with renewable energy sources across a number of existing Anaerobic Digestor (AD) plants in the UK.

The hope is that if 20 percent of these AD plants are adapted for shrimp farming, 960 shrimp production units could be in play, along with harvesting 5520 tonnes of shrimp per year, which currently makes up 25 percent of UK warm water shrimp imports.

"In the UK we love eating shrimp (king prawns) as a healthy, high quality and tasty seafood," explains Professor Wilson. "This project aims to transform practices on UK terrestrial farms to encourage the integration of home-grown, indoor shrimp production alongside anaerobic digestors (AD) that use farm waste to make renewable energy. These AD also generate a lot of heat which is otherwise wasted, but tropical king prawn farms can utilise this heat to make their production cost-effective in the UK. This simultaneously means we will have better control over both their nutritional quality and the environmental impact of their production."

The project will be seeking to generate data that evaluates the potential of sustainable UK shrimp production which utilises renewable energy technology and lessens the environmental impact.

"By providing a new income stream for farmers which requires far less land than conventional farming, the 'terrestrial blue economy' of prawn production frees up farms to take advantage of grants under the new Agriculture Act for enhancing biodiversity, reducing carbon emissions, improving water quality and providing recreational access to the environment," says Professor Bateman.

Professor Guy Poppy, Programme Director of the Transforming the UK Food Systems SPF Programme says, "The food system affects all of us every day and plays an essential role in both human health and the health of the planet.

"The 11 new projects joining our consortia and CDT means we now have a network of more than 37 UK research organisations across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland."

Concluding, he said that the research being conducted "can be tried and tested across the global food system, with the UK leading the way towards healthier and more sustainable food for all."

Aquasend to participate in Incubator program

Aquasend has announced its participation in the Xylem Innovation Incubator program, run by leading water technology company Xylem. The program, a one-year initiative, was launched with the objective of helping high school and university level students solve water issues with the help of Xylem colleagues.

Students who participate are given access to equipment, workspaces, networking, and other valuable opportunities. Both Aquasend and Xylem will be working together to provide aquaculture with water solutions and facilitate the development of technologies.

Aquasend is no stranger to water technology, as it provides fish farmers with innovative technology and strives to transform global aqua farming in the next five years. Currently, the products it provides improve water quality via continuous monitoring and are applicable to a wide range of fish farms across the world.

Aquasend's latest product, the Aquasend Beacon, measures dissolved oxygen and temperature, continuously analysing water quality and sending real-time alerts if there are any problems detected. Thanks to the monitoring technology of the Beacon, it can close a "geographical gap" between farmer or researcher, which reduces time, and labour and travel costs.

Image credit: mike on Flickr
(CC by 2.0)

"The Aquasend team is ecstatic to have this opportunity to work closely with water leaders within the Xylem organisation," says Kristin Elliott, CEO of Aquasend shares. "Our collaboration is foucsed on bringing innovative technologies to inland aquaculture markets. As aquaculture grows to become an important food source, it's our goal to support this industry with data and solutions."

From Xylem Innovation Labs, Sivan Zamir, Vice President, said that they aim to "bring new technologies to market faster."

"Aquasend is an example of a technology company that is positioned both to have a near term impact on aquaculture farmers and to support long term sustainable practices with respect to the water they consume," Mr Zamir explains.

For more information on Aquasend visit their website, HERE.

For more information on Xylem visit their website, HERE.

 

Lisaqua investigates the possibility of using recovered energy for their farm

Lisaqua, a company currently responsible for developing the first land-based shrimp farm in France – and can be read about HERE – has launched a feasibility study into using recovered energy to power the project, from an energy recovery unit (ERU) in France.

The study is being launched in collaboration with the SMITOM authority, an authority in charge of treating and recovering household waste – and Veolia – a company designing solutions for water, waste and energy management.

In April of last year, SMITOM authority and Veolia launched 'Valo'Pulse', a competition aimed at agricultural or industrial project holders wanting to utilise reliable and renewable heat sources, in order to limit the environmental impact of their operations.

The competition makes it possible to identify, select and support projects that belong to a circular economy approach which commits to creating local and sustainable energy synergies. It also promotes local employment.

Image credit: evan p. cordes on Flickr
(CC by 2.0)

Lisaqua has been selected as winner of this competition and has now been chosen for a project that will investigate the feasibility of setting up France's first land-based shrimp farm using heat from an energy recovery unit in Monthyon, France. Lisaqua has already developed an aquaculture production system with a low environmental impact and close to consumers, to reduce the emissions created by importing seafood. This echoes their 'triple zero' guarantee: zero antibiotics, zero km travelled and zero polluting discharge.

The company will be relying on the recovery of waste heat from Veolia's ERU so that the farm's water at the right temperature can be maintained. Constructing the heat exchanger and shrimp farm is scheduled for 2024.

"Our vision is to produce more efficiently, with fewer resources," explains Gabriel Boneu, Lisaqua's co-founder. "We are delighted to build this first farm project based on an industrial ecology model, in partnership with the dynamic teams of the SMITOM and Veolia, who will be able to bring their expertise and experience."

"We are very pleased to welcome Lisaqua to our Monthyon site," says Jean-François Léger, President of SMITOM du Nord Seine-et-Marne. "The project as presented has convinced us, as much by the passion and ambition of its designers as by the seriousness of their approach. We hope that it will be carried through to completion … in the interests of the region and with regards to its environmental and social impact."

Concluding, Pascal Tissot, the Regional Director for Waste Recycling and Recovery from Veolia says they are "committed to ecological transformation."

"In particular by supporting territories in their environmental transition and the reuse of resources, we are committed to actively participating in the implementation of this unique project in France."

Cooke Aquaculture deploys their first hybrid feed barge

Cooke Aquaculture Scotland has just received a hybrid feed barge at their Mill Bay site in Stronsay, Orkney, which was delivered to them by aquaculture supply company Gael Force Group in partnership with Fjord Maritime who are responsible for developing the hybrid technology.

The hybrid feed barge is designed to reduce carbon emissions, as an auxiliary diesel generator will be in operation only to recharge batteries on the barge, which is then used to power the barge and seawater site.

The design of the feed barge dates back to 2019, when Cooke conducted a review of barge power as belonging to their ISO 14001 environmental management objectives, to explore alternative sources of power to supply their seawater sites in Orkney and Shetland. Consequently, the hybrid battery solution creates an automated power supply and optimises use of generators, batteries, electrical drives and control systems.

This will reduce generator run time by up to 90 percent and fuel consumption up to 60 percent, totalling carbon savings of approximately 146 tons of CO2 every year, which is equivalent to removing 55 cars from our roads each year.

This marks the first hybrid barge that Cooke have deployed in the UK, and the first time for Fjord Maritime that their hybrid technology has been deployed outside of Norway. Fjord Maritime's hybrid technology has been deployed on over 100 barges in Norway in recent years, affirming that it is a tried and tested technology. 

Image credit: Cooke Aquaculture Scotland

"Cooke Aquaculture is committed to sustainability," explains Stewart Rendall, North Isles Manager at Cooke Aquaculture. "Farm-raised already have one of the lowest carbon footprints but there is always more we can do to minimise any impact on the environment and play our part in tackling climate change."

He went on to add it was a "significant investment," and they had "a high degree of confidence" in the technology.

From Fjord Maritime, Øyvind Bakke, Chief Commercial Officer says, "To better manage power supplies for fish farms, Fjord Maritime developed the Fjord Hybrid solution. Fjord Hybrid automates power generation and supply for fish farms, optimising all aspects of operation and reducing generator running time by up to 90 per cent.

"Fjord Maritime would like to thank Cooke Aquaculture Scotland for the trust given us as a supplier. We highly appreciate the opportunity to optimise the energy production and reduce the greenhouse gases on the new built barge." 

Concluding, Jamie Young, Sales Director at Gael Force called it a "close partnership" with Cooke Aquaculture, stressing the "importance of sustainability."

"We believe this will be the start of a program of retrofitting these hybrid systems to existing barges in Scotland and will become the norm in fitting out our new barge builds in steel and concrete."

AKVA group picks Infor for a standardised cloud solution

AKVA group have chosen Infor, an industry cloud company, to provide them with Infor's Cloudsuite Industrial Enterprise software to help improve AKVA's internal collaboration and improve on delivering solutions and services for their customers in land-based and sea-based fish farming.

"We are pleased that AKVA Group has chosen Infor's industry-specific ERP solution. The decision confirms that Infor offers the market's most modern multitenant cloud ERP solution with functionality relevant to AKVA's industry needs," says Erlend Skaar-Olsen, the Infor country manager for Norway.

AKVA group will be using the manufacturing ERP and digital operations platform to connect engineering processes, deliver improved customer configuration and quoting, and optimise their operations in supply chain, production and delivery.

The reasoning behind choosing a standardised cloud solution rests in the ability for "further digitisation," AKVA group explained in the press release, to cover traditional manufacturing ERP and the ability to place the customer at the centre of importance.

Image credit: Infor

"The result of our preliminary project showed that more than 90% of AKVA Group's business processes are covered as standard in Infor's CloudSuite Industrial Enterprise solution. The rest are solved with the use of the built-in integration engine and tools to enrich the solution, whilst not hindering future upgrades. This means a more efficient implementation and lower risk when most of the solution can largely be adopted out of the box," adds Skaar-Olsen.

The company is present in all aquaculture markets and currently boasts offices in a number of countries including Norway, Chile, Denmark, Scotland, and others, and delivers a range of products from individual components to services and solutions. AKVA group currently manufacture a range of products, encompassing their feed systems, cameras and sensors, and ROVs.

"The transition to a common cloud-based ERP platform is a business-critical part of our digitalisation journey, where we have clear expectations that this will both help improve interaction and information flow internally, and also to improve delivery capability and precision to our customers," Ronny Meinkøhn, CFO of AKVA group, points out.

For more information on AKVA group visit their website, HERE.

For more information on Infor visit their website, HERE.

Largest protein skimmers due to be delivered to Atlantic Sapphire

Supplier of RAS equipment Mat-Kuling is due to deliver the first group of the world's largest protein skimmers to Atlantic Sapphire, they announced in a press release dated April 10, and will be part of phase two of the Miami Bluehouse expansion.

The expansion is currently the largest recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) globally and is located in Miami, Florida. The site will be raising salmon on land and aims to be growing 220,000 tons of salmon annually by 2031 with a focus on recycling 99 percent of the water used.

Mat-Kuling has been working closely with Atlantic Sapphire, Hazen & Sawyer and Wharton Smith for the last nine months to oversee the integration of its technology in with phase two of the project.

The purpose of foam fractionator technology is to remove waste in RAS which includes fish waste, CO2, ammonia and organic compounds from metabolic byproducts, algae and phenols. Many of the aforementioned affect animal growth and health, as well as impact on the flavour of the final product, so to ensure their removal in RAS is highly beneficial.

Image credit: Atlantic Sapphire

Mat-Kuling breaks the record of its largest protein skimmer, which was previously the PS-3000 model, with the deliverance of a new protein skimmer to the site. The company has been working in collaboration with Mat Filtration Technologies to scale up protein skimmers and other equipment to meet the specific requirements of RAS facilities. Results showed standard protein skimmers do the job, but struggle to perform in intensive facilities where foam density and volume produced is greater than expected.

For more information on Mat-Kuling visit their website, HERE.

For more information on Atlantic Sapphire visit their website, HERE.

Benchmark's CleanTreat system to be trialled

Benchmark's water purification system, CleanTreat, is going to be trialled as a medicine to treat sea lice on salmon, in what will be a step towards improving fish health and wellbeing.

The system will be tested at Mowi's fish farm in Scotland over the coming month and will be supported by the University of Stirling's Institute of Aquaculture and the Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC).

CleanTreat's effectiveness will be tested in removing Salmosan Vet in a range of conditions, in order to better determine how and in what quantities it can be filtered from treatment water. Benchmark's Salmosan Vet is a treatment for sea lice and has been approved for use in Scotland since the 1990s.

Historically, salmon have been treated with Salmosan Vet within a closed tarpaulin, placed inside a net pen. Salmon will instead be guided into a vessel customised for treatment, after which fish will be returned to the net pen and water will be transferred to the CleanTreat system. The medicine is removed, along with any organic matter in the filtration process, and purified water is released into the sea. By removing organic material from the treatment water – which encompasses sea lice and sea lice egg strings – this will help prevent development of resistance against the medicine.

By introducing CleanTreat, the aims are to reduce the costs behind managing sea lice – around UK£40 million annually in Scotland – as well as facilitate fish farmers to respond quicker to sea lice challenges, provide more effective and precise treatment, and improve the process of treating sea lice overall. Producers are hoped to have the ability to treat multiple pens within a shorter time frame, ensuring that a larger number of fish receive the medicine.

Image credit: SAIC

"As a salmon producer, the health and wellbeing of our fish is of paramount importance. We take a number of different approaches to supporting their welfare, including the use of medicines," says Dougie Hunter, technical director and managing director for ocean matters at Mowi. "However, we are always conscious of any potential environmental impact and the introduction of CleanTreat could help alleviate some of the current limitations of Salmosan Vet. This could be a significant boost to fish health and welfare across our sites."

Mark Todman, head of business development at Benchmark, says, "At Benchmark, we are excited to be collaborating with SAIC, the University of Stirling and Mowi on this pilot trial. CleanTreat could enable the use of efficacious and high welfare medicines like Salmosan Vet in the most environmentally responsible manner possible, providing the best outcomes for both farmers and their fish."

Heather Jones, CEO of SAIC, concludes, "The potential introduction of CleanTreat could be a significant improvement on how the aquaculture sector uses medicines, but it is important to note that it is an enhancement of an already closely controlled and tightly regulated process. Alongside cleaner fish and other approaches, medicines are a crucial part of the toolbox necessary for managing the perennial issue of sea lice. This project is another great example of how businesses and universities can work together to make a big difference to fish health."

For more information on Benchmark visit their website, HERE.

For more information on the Institute of Aquaculture visit their website, HERE.

For more information on the SAIC visit their website, HERE.

Strategic alliance between Regal Springs and aquaManager to facilitate digital automation

 Tilapia producer Regal Springs has announced a "strategic alliance" with aquaManager, a leading aquaculture technology provider, to facilitate developing digital automation in aquaculture, which will allow for greater predictability, productivity and sustainability in fish farming.

The announcement of a long-term, strategic collaboration between both companies while allow for the implementation of state-of-the-art technologies, to ensure intelligent and efficient automation in Regal Springs' farming operations. This encapsulates technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning and advanced data algorithms, as well as business intelligence, real-time data collection and the latest smart devices such as camera tracking systems.

Regal Springs will be introducing these technologies into tilapia farming operations in inland deep-water lakes and will be part of their vision of 'Fish Farm of the Future.' Regal Springs is currently the largest vertically integrated white fish farming producer and produces tilapia in large floating nets in freshwater lakes.

Image credit: aquaManager

 "This collaboration aligns perfectly with Regal Springs' strategy for environmental, social and economic sustainability (ESG), and is a building- block in our passionate commitment to the all-important Blue Foods Movement," explains Alois Hofbauer, CEO of Regal Springs.

"As we create a sustainable fish farming industry for the future, we need to adopt leading-edge technology, so that we can farm fish more efficiently and sustainably, but at the same time continue to safeguard our waters, now and for the future. We are excited to collaborate with such an enterprising and innovative partner as aquaManager, and as Blue Food Movement pioneers, to create the fish farms of tomorrow," Hofbaeur adds.

"We've been working with Regal Springs for many years," says Kostas Seferis, founder of aquaManager. "And we enjoy a long-lasting partnership with them. We regard Regal Springs as a visionary company, always keen to innovate in this industry that thrives on improving sustainability efforts. We look forward to many happy years working together, to turn into reality the dream of automated fish farming with a high degree of predictability."

For more information on Regal Springs visit their website, HERE.

For more information on aquaManager visit their website, HERE.

Umitron's solution to digitising the shrimp sector

Umitron, a technology company involved in building data platforms for aquaculture, has announced the launch of their product Umitron Eagle, an AI-based analytics solution for shrimp farming. The solution will be utilising AI detection to track biological conditions of shrimp in real time as well as taking into consideration other factors related to intensive production environments.

Production of shrimp centres around the Pacific white shrimp but faces many issues related to disease outbreaks, health management and poor environmental management procedures that lead to mass mortality and impact on the supply chain.

Addressing these issues through the adoption of technology on behalf of shrimp producers has been slow progress, stunting the growth of the sector and sustainable production. Current solutions in place revolve around remotely controlling feeding and monitoring environmental factors through sensors but are unable to analyse real-time conditions of the shrimp. Additionally, many farming environments have poor visibility.

This is where Umitron comes in, having spent some time towards developing a solution that will enable farmers to assess the conditions of their shrimp by using custom AI algorithms. The conditions being assessed include analysis, health and growth, and biomass. Umitron Eagle enables producers to optimise their feeding protocols, using data-informed decisions.

In doing so, the company will be facilitating the growth of shrimp production and the sustainability of production. Producers can expect to improve FCR, biosecurity measures, a reduction in feed waste and overall, optimised operations. 

For more information on Umitron visit their website, HERE.

Whole Oceans' RAS facility underway

Whole Oceans, a Maine-based salmon producer, has announced in a press release dated March 31, that it is beginning work to prepare its site at Bucksport, Maine. The site, which was formerly the old Verso paper mill, will be utilised for a RAS facility, to raise Atlantic salmon. Plans for the facility were announced by the company back in December of 2020.

It has finalised an agreement to begin "site clean-up, grading and other work" it explained in its press release, to prepare it for the next phases of the project.

Senior Project Manager for Whole Oceans Mike Thompson has said of the project, "I am looking forward to being in Bucksport and managing the initial site work and to seeing this project move forward. The Bucksport community has been tremendously supportive of our efforts to date and I share their enthusiasm for seeing site work get underway."

The old Verso paper mill site will be providing deep water access and additional acreage for Whole Oceans, following on from deliberation of how to best use the site. Once the design of the facility nears completion, proposed uses will be reviewed by the town of Bucksport as well as the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Partnering with PR Aqua, a leading technology supplier of RAS design and consultation, Whole Oceans brings aboard PR Aqua's 25 years of expertise in delivering RAS projects.

"This is a pivotal moment for Whole Oceans and it's exciting to see our thoughtful planning moving forward with PR Aqua as our partner," says Shayne De Lima, Senior Advisor of Whole Oceans. "PR Aqua is recognised around the world for their innovation, service, and expertise in recirculating aquaculture systems. We are proud to be working with them to advance this project."

For more information on Whole Oceans visit their website, HERE.

For more information on PR Aqua visit their website, HERE.

BAP Hatchery Standard Issue 2.0 finalised

The final draft of Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Hatchery Standard Issue 2.0, published by the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) on April 4, 2022, includes a number of new requirements related to food safety, worker safety, water quality, effluent monitoring and traceability.

Image credit: See1,Do1,Teach1 on Flickr
(CC BY 2.0)

Issue 2.0 replaces Issue 1.0, which was initially adopted in September 2014. Issue 2.0 will go into effect on April 4, 2023, and all hatcheries pursuing certification or re-certification won't be required to be audited against Issue 2.0 until then, giving facilities time to prepare for the new requirements added to the standard.

Issue 2.0 was subjected to 60 days of public comment that expired on November 8, 2021. A total of 27 comments were received.

The standard applies to all aquaculture hatchery and nursery facilities for finfish, crustaceans and molluscs that produce eggs and/or juvenile aquatic animals for live transfer to other aquaculture facilities and to all species covered by the any BAP farm standards.

A number of new requirements were added to the standard, including:

• Hatcheries are now required to conduct a risk assessment of potential human food-safety risks associated with their operations.
• The worker-safety and employee-relations requirements have been updated, including requirements for wages and benefits, working hours including overtime, voluntary labour, child labour and young workers, use of workers from recruitment agencies, discrimination, disciplinary procedures, worker voice, and worker health and safety.
• The effluent monitoring parameters and limits for land-based systems have been updated and include unique parameters and limits for recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
• The water-quality monitoring requirements for cages or net pens in fresh or brackish water have been revised, consistent with the approach adopted in the BAP Farm Standard Issue 3.0.
• The BAP fish in fish out (FIFO) limits for hatcheries using more than 50 metric tons of dry feed per year have been revised, and a requirement to calculate the forage fish dependency ratio (FFDR) has been added.
• Requirements for live feeds produced in hatchery operations have been added.
• Hatcheries are required to control the sources of their broodstock/eggs via an effective internal auditing process.
• Requirements to limit escape events were updated.
• Traceability requirements, particularly those related to demonstrating BAP star status, were updated, and trace-forward and trace-back exercises are now required.

For more information visit the Global Seafood Alliance website, HERE.
To view the full BAP Hatchery Standard Issue 2.0 visit the link, HERE.

Frame agreement to see wellboats equipped with cooling systems

Wellboat operator Sølvtrans recently entered into a frame agreement with Hydroniq Coolers, which oversees Hydroniq becoming Sølvtrans' preferred supplier of cooling systems.

Hydroniq will be supplying Sølvtrans with its main cooling system as well as separate seawater coolers and spare parts, to equip future newbuild vessels. Orders for equipment can be conducted by Sølvtrans, a shipyard, or whichever company is nominated to place the purchase order.

"It requires a lot to become listed on what we internally call the 'Sølvtrans preferred suppliers list'," Andrew Tarberg, procurement manager at Sølvtrans, explains. "Hydroniq Coolers definitely had to earn its right to qualify as preferred supplier to Sølvtrans. We have over several years become well acquainted with Hydroniq Coolers' technology and ability to deliver. Hence, it makes sense for both parties to enter into this frame agreement."

​

Hans Robert Almestad, Hydroniq Coolers

More recent years have seen Hydroniq deliver its hull-integrated 'Rack' marine cooling system to several of Sølvtrans' wellboats and vessels that shipyards Myklebust Verft and Aas Mekaniske Verksted are in the process of building for Sølvtrans. The cooling system in question is integrated in the hull below the vessel's main engine room, to reduce temperatures of the engines and other auxiliary systems.

The Rack seawater cooler has been increasingly adopted by a number of shipowners globally due to its space advantage and has proved incredibly useful for vessels operating with large loads and low speeds which includes wellboats. It is also highly energy efficient and can be easily cleaned by the vessel crew.

"Sølvtrans is the world's biggest wellboat operator, with a highly ambitions newbuilding programme. They focus on sustainable solutions and future-oriented technologies that ensure optimal logistics and fish welfare. To be chosen as their main supplier of seawater coolers is a major declaration of trust and we consider it as an important seal of approval," concludes Hans Robert Almestad, vice president sales and marketing at Hydroniq Coolers.

For more information on Hydroniq Coolers visit their website, HERE.

For more information on Sølvtrans visit their website, HERE.

Successful sorting of fish in iFarm project to improve health

 

Cermaq's iFarm project, which seeks to incorporate artificial intelligence and machine learning to provide a more detailed overview of farmed fish health and welfare, has overseen the success of testing a sorting mechanism to sort fish in a pen.

The project, which is a collaboration between BioSort, Cermaq and ScaleAQ, recently tested a sorter, developed by BioSort, which has the capacity to sort and separate individual fish based on specific characteristics. The aim of sorting is to be able to remove fish that need a follow up, to ensure the overall health of fish in the pen is better.

The sorter has been in developments for two years and is controlled by underwater electric motors. The testing took place at BioSort's lab and pool at their offices in Oslo, before moving onto the sea outside Oslo, and finally being installed and tested in net pens at Cermaq's sea site Vesterålen, in Northern Norway.

Image credit: Cermaq

"To my knowledge, no one has previously sorted swimming fish in a net pen before, so this is a big step towards individual-based handling of fish," Managing Director of BioSort, Geir Stang Hauge says.

"The purpose of this first test was to show that the sorter actually manages to sort swimming fish in a net pen, and it worked as we hoped, so it was a successful test," he adds.

Looking to the future, there are hopes that the sorter will move from manual control to autonomous so, combined with the sensor system in iFarm, it will be able to make its own decisions.

"Now that we have shown that it is possible to sort out swimming fish, the work will be intensified. The development team takes the learnings from this test to the development of the next generation prototype of the sorter that will be able to function under even more conditions," Hauge concludes.

For more information on Cermaq visit their website, HERE.

For more information on BioSort visit their website, HERE.