These digital solutions can enable a sustainable expansion of the aquaculture industry

With a first-hand value of more than NOK 71 billion for farmed fish in 2019, the industry is one of the most important cornerstones of the Norwegian economy. The government's ambition is for Norway to be the world's leading seafood nation, with a fivefold increase in production and a sixfold increase in value creation from 2010 to 2050. With great ambitions comes great responsibility, and expansion will require new and better solutions for safeguarding fish welfare.

New digital solutions

Today, fish farms are required to carry out daily inspections of fish and facilities, including inspecting and documenting dead fish in the net pen. The inspections are mostly carried out using fixed sensor and camera systems, divers or hired expertise. Fixed installations naturally have some limitations when it comes to the range and flexibility of monitoring. This is one of the areas where digitalisation has already improved everyday tasks.

The Federation of Norwegian Industries (Norsk Industri) reports that some companies have adopted drone technology to prevent escapes and combat salmon lice, and to monitor fouling and wear on the facility. Such mobile tools, combined with good models built on sensor data, can monitor the entire facility and give a more accurate picture of conditions. That way, deviations can be detected early and measures put in place faster. There are also clear financial and time-saving benefits when the people working at the site can take new tools into use without much training.

It is essential that the industry takes a proactive approach to prevent problems from arising, rather than spending large resources on dealing with the problems afterwards. - Norsk Industri, “Roadmap for the Aquaculture Industry”

High mortality in Norwegian aquaculture

More than 52 million farmed fish died before slaughter in 2020. A similar number die in each of the categories juvenile fish and cleaner fish (Fish Health Report 2020). Infectious diseases are listed as the dominant cause, followed by escapes, poor water quality and stress on the fish. Closer observation of changes in the fish's behaviour and appearance, such as atypical swimming patterns, loss of appetite or surface wounds, gives a clearer picture of conditions in the pen and helps locate where infection or injuries occur.

The controversial cleaner fish

The use of cleaner fish in the fight against salmon lice has been, and still is, highly controversial. Cleaner fish, which by nature feed on parasites, are placed in the pens to eat lice off the farmed fish. But the cleaner fish's natural need for enough food, oxygen and a shelter where they can hide and rest is not met by all fish farming companies, according to forskning.no. Improving welfare measures requires more knowledge, but here too, fixed systems have their limitations. Flexible tools such as drones can then be a good solution for better access to monitoring the behaviour of the cleaner fish and looking inside the hides.

We can continuously follow up and see whether the cleaner fish eat the feed we offer, that they stay where they should be and that they are in good condition. - Johannes Schrøder, Cleaner Fish Coordinator, Salmar

Mechanical lice treatment

Farmed fish can also be deloused using measures such as flushing, brushing and lasers. Such mechanical treatments can, however, put the fish under considerable stress, and have been shown to be clearly linked to poor fish welfare. Feedback from fish farms that already use underwater drones shows a potential need for such tools during delousing operations. By placing the drone in the water where the fish are pumped out of the delousing barge, they can closely monitor the fish's behaviour as they return to the sea. If they spot negative changes in behaviour, they can act quickly and stop the treatment before more fish are harmed.

Can relieve divers

Just as important as fish health is creating safe operations with a low risk of injury to personnel, facilities, equipment and the surrounding environment. The challenge of getting a dive team or external ROV operators in place at short notice, combined with high costs, can lead to necessary inspections being delayed. The use of divers also represents a significant HSE risk. Solutions that can relieve divers by carrying out regular checks of dead-fish scoops, feed hoses, and data and power cables ensure optimal operation of the site and a safer environment. Quick inspections of work and service boats, to look for rope around the propeller, cuts in wear strips or to check the sacrificial anodes, are also important for reducing risk and delays in daily operations.

Automated underwater vehicles can take on high-risk jobs such as net inspections and relieve divers. That can mean fewer accidents, monitoring of fish health and prevention of escapes. - Researchers at SINTEF, from sintef.no

More sensors and more data

As the industry digitalises, the possibilities for equipping drones with extra equipment and sensors also grow. A positioning system such as Water Linked can map the pen and provide precise positioning data for any damage to the net. The possibility of attaching mechanical tools, such as a gripper to retrieve knives and loose objects that have fallen into the pen, is also under constant development.

Water quality is one of the most critical factors for ensuring good fish welfare. Temperature, currents, light conditions and oxygen levels can vary greatly across different parts of the facility. By equipping drones with extra measuring instruments, additional data can be collected from areas the fixed probes do not cover as well.

The way Blueye has developed its drone solution, the operator can also simplify the documentation of daily operations and the sharing of collected data. The drone's dive data, along with photos and video recordings, is stored in the drone app and can be automatically generated into a PDF report that is easily shared with your own documentation systems.

Technology that eliminates the problems

While politicians are betting on growth, there is no doubt that the industry takes the challenges and health threats seriously. “By 2030, salmon farming must be carried out with technology that eliminates the problems with salmon lice, prevents escapes and preserves the value of particulate matter.” This is one of the main goals in Norsk Industri's “Roadmap for the Aquaculture Industry”. In an industry constantly subject to new laws and regulations, there will also be a need for real solutions for improved equipment, competence and documentation. The opportunities offered by new technology will be a big part of the solution for achieving healthy growth in the industry.

Technology can provide a better basis for informed decisions in the short and long term, at every level - for fish farmers, operations managers and finance staff alike. It is particularly important to find solutions that can easily be integrated into daily operations. Tools that everyone can use and data that many can read equip the sites with more "experts" with better insight. In addition to the systems already in use, underwater drones can also become part of the industry's digital everyday life. In the short term, drones can make daily operations more efficient, ensure early identification of risks and save costs. Over time, dive data and documentation can be used to predict future developments and then steer them in the right direction.