Aquabyte nets the first ‘Happy Salmon’

Tech-based aquaculture supplier Aquabyte has become the inaugural winner of the “Happy Salmon” fish welfare prize from by Fish Farming Expert’s Chilean sister publication, Salmonexpert, at the AquaSur trade show in Puerto Montt.

Salmonexpert's general manager, Gian Paul Ricapito, presented the award yesterday.

The purpose of the award is to highlight companies or projects that have achieved good results in animal welfare, which is an increasingly important aspect of the aquaculture industry.

Three companies were shortlisted: Aquabyte, Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC), and the wellboat shipping company Nachipa.

Aquabyte, which has offices in the United States, Norway, and Chile, uses custom underwater cameras, computer vision, and machine learning to quantify fish weights, detect sea lice infestations, and generate optimal feeding plans in real time.

The company’s founder and chief executive Bryton Shang said Aquabyte’s team were surprised and honoured to receive the award.