Increased ROV use is making our farms safer, says Ventisqueros
Chilean salmon farmer Ventisqueros last year used remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for 1,066 operations that would have otherwise required 2,460 dives, it said in a press release.
Another 742 operations were conducted from the surface with robotic support. These involved tasks the an ROV can’t perform and that require a diver’s assistance but don’t necessarily require a dive, said Ventisqueros, which produced around 35,000 gutted weight tonnes of Atlantic salmon last year.
“The incorporation of underwater robotics has allowed us to tangibly reduce our teams’ exposure to higher-risk tasks,” said Rodrigo Niklitschek, farming manager at Ventisqueros.
Technology truly becomes valuable when it allows us to protect people. Every task we can shift from the seafloor to a remote operation means less exposure to risk.
“For us, innovation isn’t just about incorporating new technologies, but about using them to move towards safer and more efficient operations, always putting people’s well-being at the farm.”
Mooring line inspections
The technology also enabled the inspection of more than 1,400 mooring lines, expanding the capacity to monitor critical infrastructure and providing more information for the operational management of the salmon farms.
“Technology truly becomes valuable when it allows us to protect people. Every task we can shift from the seafloor to a remote operation means less exposure to risk and a concrete step forward in our safety culture,” emphasised Niklitschek.
A number of professional divers have died in accidents at salmon farms and other commercial sites in Chile in the last few years.
In July, Los Lagos region Socialist Party senator Fidel Espinoza called for fish farmers to assume much greater responsibility for overseeing diving subcontractors. His demand followed the death of a 27-year-old diver at a Mowi salmon farm in the Aysén region.
“We have been shaken by these serious situations that are occurring. Another diver has died. This adds up to 11 lives lost this year alone, and we believe the situation is becoming worrying and unsustainable,” Espinoza said.
The 11 fatalities he referred to included six crew members of the Konimo 1, a fish farm contract service vessel that sank at its mooring in the Reloncaví estuary during the night on January 27, and five divers.
