Ireland trumpets its tech at Aqua Nor
Early-stage aquaculture investor Hatch Blue has teamed up with Irish seafood development agency Bord Iascaigh Mara (BIM) and Enterprise Ireland to showcase 12 of Ireland’s most innovative aquatechnology companies at the Aqua Nor trade show in Trondheim, Norway, next week.
“Together, we’re shining a spotlight on the exceptional talent, cutting-edge solutions and collaborative spirit driving the future of sustainable aquaculture on an international stage,” said Jessica Giannoumis, Hatch Blue’s community manager for Ireland.
“This is more than just a presence, it’s a statement about the calibre of ideas and technology emerging from Ireland’s blue bioeconomy.”
Lice solution
The companies at the Aquatech Ireland stand (D-343) include nitrate and nitrite monitoring equipment supplier Aquamonitrix, marine engineering specialist KER Group, and Konree Innovation, which says it has developed a method to control numbers of salmon lice (L. salmonis) in salmon pens.
“We have a hardware product that will go into the salmon pen,” chief executive Margaret Rae told Galway Bay FM last year.
“It will be there on a 24/7 basis, acting to reduce the sea lice numbers. We’re a non-fish contact solution and also a non-chemical solution. We are using machine visioning and AI to take images of what we sea in the water and then use termination methods that will terminate the pests that are present.”
Portfolio companies
Separate from the Aquatech Ireland stand, Hatch Blue’s portfolio companies attending Aqua Nor include SensorGlobe, Manolin, ANB Sensors, Algisys, and Impact-9, which has developed a patented design for a open ocean fish farm that would be cheaper to build than conventional offshore structures.
“We look forward to the opportunity to further connect these and all our portfolio companies with the wider ecosystem attending Aqua Nor. We are excited to engage with the community as we grow our network of farmers, development partners, investors and industry representatives,” said Caitriona Kelleher, managing director of Hatch Blue’s Early Stage Investments team.
