How technology can contribute to increased fish welfare and quality

The aquaculture industry in Norway is one of the country’s most important industries. Every year great values are drawn from the ocean around the nation’s coastline, satisfying hungry people across the world. An increase in population, resulting in an increased demand for food globally, makes this industry even more important in the years to come.

Control the process and the product quality

According to the Norwegian Seafood Council, Norway exported a total of 25 700 fish meals each minute in 2018, an increase in volume of 4% compared to 2017. This enormous quantity of seafood exported is making it extremely important to be able to monitor procedures for all parts of the supply chain. If not, we could risk having lower quality products, which could lead to more waste, less earnings and bad reputations.

Over the years, Cflow has delivered fish handling equipment to the aquaculture industry. A tailor-made automation system is included with every delivery. These systems are designed and developed locally at Cflow in Langevåg, which provides increased flexibility and short transportation time from idea to market. The systems are facilitated so that users get an overview of all necessary operating parameters, at all times, to achieve the best possible welfare and quality of the fish.

Automation contributes to efficient growth

Check-ups, reporting, and intelligent computer systems, more often referred to as AI or Machine Learning, is also increasingly important, due to the increase in production of seafood. Fishmongers want to have the best possible quality, and all producers are striving to grow. In many cases, these needs are counterposed, and the access to historical data from the processes could be essential for the producer. Fishmongers would also like the producer to document the life and supply chain of the fish, to ensure satisfactory quality.

In order to meet these challenges, Cflow has developed a tool for data collection, called Synergy Log. With this tool, the users can document the welfare of the fish, and it can also contribute to reporting to the government. Technology is constantly evolving in the aquaculture industry, and the development is quick. Automation along with knowledge development on biology will contribute to a sustainable development of the industry.