Cage camera puts Petuna in the picture despite low light levels

Scotland-based fish farming supplier Ace Aquatec has secured a multi-unit order for its A-BIOMASS cage camera from Tasmanian salmon farmer Petuna.

Ace Aquatec said the camera had proved its worth in trials with Petuna, which operates in the Tamar River estuary at Rowella and in Macquarie Harbour. Both sites present challenges for any technology, from highly conditioned fish adapted to local environments to tannin-rich waters with low light levels.

Despite these challenges, A-BIOMASS demonstrated the ability to adapt and give 99.17% accuracy, said Dundee-headquartered Ace Aquatec. In trials, the system measured more than 8,000 fish in a single day, compared to just 300 fish via traditional manual sampling; a process that normally requires multiple staff and extensive handling.

Great potential

Petuna fish performance manager Stuart Atherton said the company was impressed by how well the camera system adapts to the unique conditions Petuna farms in.

“To have a system that can report the weight of the fish using a non-invasive method will allow us to keep a much better eye on the health and welfare of the animals, not to mention improvements in the working environment for our employees,” said Atherton.

“The system will also allow us to monitor stock during the period from late spring through to early autumn where water temperatures prevent manual sampling. The number of fish the system can sample in a day is substantially higher than we can sample manually, meaning stronger confidence in the accuracy of results. We see great potential for the Ace Aquatec system.”

Better welfare

Ace Aquatec chief executive Nathan Pyne-Carter said Petuna’s trial demonstrated its flexibility and robustness in some of the most challenging global aquaculture environments, particularly with low light.

“Combining artifical intelligence with non-invasive monitoring allows farmers to make better-informed decisions that offer significant benefits for fish welfare and farm efficiency,” said Payne-Carter.

“Petuna is seeing the significant commercial benefits of using our high accuracy system, from improved operational efficiency to greater transparency around feed conversion ratios. Accurate weight forecasting provides a solid foundation for farm production, processing and sales to improve profitability.”

To support the new deployment, Ace Aquatec has also established a locally based technical support presence with CAS Australasia. This allows for rapid assistance for any hardware, repair, or maintenance needs.