Management, monitoring and analysis
A new era in data
Making sense of the growing amount data coming in from farm sites will be crucial
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onitoring what is happening at a farm site – from fish behaviour to water quality – used to entail having a member of staff heading out on a boat for a physical inspec�on. Analysis of, for example, oxygen content in the water might require taking a physical sample and taking it back to a lab somewhere on the mainland. Increasingly, however, monitoring is real-�me, remote and automated. Now, a consor�um of research partners in Scotland has been awarded a £250,000 funding package to revolu�onise the collec�on, interpreta�on, and use of data on fish farms, with the development of a new digital pla�orm that will enable ac�onable insights. Led by R3-IoT, the group will develop a so�ware system that automa�cally captures large volumes of con�nuous sensor data across aquaculture sites securely in one place, where it can be processed, stored, and ac�oned. The digital pla�orm will be developed in parallel with R3-IoT’s satellite communica�ons solu�on, which brings seamless connec�vity to remote and rural areas. The project is funded by the Seafood Innova�on Fund, with support from the Sustainable Aquaculture Innova�on Centre (SAIC); Northern Light, the aquaculture consultancy; The Data Lab, Scotland’s innova�on centre for data science and AI; CENSIS, Scotland’s innova�on centre for sensing, imaging systems, and Internet of Things technologies; Edinburgh Napier University; the University of S�rling’s Ins�tute of Aquaculture; and the Sco�sh Salmon Producers Organisa�on (SSPO). The new pla�orm will automate the collec�on of data on metrics like oxygen, temperature, and salinity, from a range of sensing technologies already in place, allowing fish farms remotely manage their opera�ons more efficiently. It will also enable organisa�ons to regularly share environmental and opera�onal data with regulators, supply chain companies, researchers and other stakeholders. Allan Cannon, CEO and co-founder of R3-IoT, says: “Having data is only the first step – you also have to unlock its poten�al, which is what the digital platform we are developing through this project will deliver.
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“The technology will help fish farmers understand opera�ons across different sites and loca�ons wherever they are, providing them with increased visibility and improved quality of, and access to, �mely informa�on. It will also allow them to remotely and quickly respond to data-driven insights to improve business performance.” Heather Jones, CEO at SAIC, added: “This digital tool could bring another level of intelligence to aquaculture, allowing site teams to understand condi�ons on site even if they are working remotely. Using sensor data they could, for instance, iden�fy issues with a par�cular area of the farm being affected by �dal influx with increased levels of plankton and chlorophyll. “Fish farmers will be able to decide the metrics and parameters that ma�er to them. When industry professionals see this in ac�on, they may want to take it further and could even explore concepts such as preventa�ve maintenance type models… ul�mately, it could be a powerful tool for fish farmers.” Meanwhile, Mowi CEO Ivan Vindheim has commi�ed to implemen�ng the company’s 4.0 Smart Farming ini�a�ve in all of its Norwegian farms by no later than 2025. Using advanced imaging technology and intelligent sensors, Smart Farming will enable real-�me
Top: Mowi Smart Farm control centre Above: Heather Jones Opposite: Mowi Smart Farm real �me monitoring
www.fishfarmermagazine.com
09/08/2021 15:09:14
