Good fish or bad fish? Maritech Eye can automate the answer

Sustainable seafood is the most environmentally efficient source of protein on the planet. Under pressure from consumers and governments alike, the seafood industry must continually innovate to increase its sustainability profile.

“The seafood companies that succeed financially in the future will be those that adopt technology to protect the environment,” says Holte.

Maritech Eye™ automates the quality assessment of red and white fish at industrial speed. Using hyperspectral camera technology, it analyses and documents the inside of each fish with higher precision and faster speed than a person.

“Maritech Eye scans below the skin of white fish for quality and identifies blood spots in red fish fillets. White fish is sorted by species as well. Each fish can be given a quality score based on preset algorithms,” explains Holte.

The solution quickly detects whether a fish is suitable for a premium product such as fillet loins or for lower-end products such as fishcakes. The information is sent to the grader for sorting as well as to the LINSiGHT IoT platform for data storage and analysis.

“What’s unique about Maritech Eye is our proprietary algorithms combined with advanced camera technology developed by our partners NEO and Nofima over 17 years,” he says.

In addition, Maritech can modify the standard algorithms to suit a company’s particular needs.

Maritech Eye™ ensures the best utilisation of natural resources. Scanning fish early in the production process reduces fish waste and boosts resource use efficiency. Companies also benefit from higher margins and better cost effectiveness.

“Fish processors can improve their production planning through fact-based decision-making. Premium-quality fish fillets can be identified and sold for top dollar, while the rest of the fish can be used optimally in other product segments,” explains Holte.

Scanning at industrial speed also increases production line efficiency and reduces the need for manual labour.

Moreover, objective documentation of fish quality strengthens a company’s brand and competitive advantage. “Companies can prove their product quality and include this in their marketing materials,” he points out.

The trend towards a sustainable seafood sector is generating demand for creative, innovative technology. Maritech has been at the forefront, designing sustainable seafood solutions since the 1970s.

“Today, 70 per cent of the Norwegian seafood export runs through Maritech software for trading, production, processing, management and logistics. This equals more than 20 000 meals every minute,” says Holte.

Solutions for registration, sales and traceability of wild catch have been at the core of the Maritech offering from the start, supporting and promoting sustainable fishing practices. Now Maritech provides software for the entire seafood value chain, covering the areas of seafood production, trading, logistics and analytics.

Maritech is also a leading provider of solutions tailored to the transport industry within and beyond the seafood segment. One of these is Maritech Analytics for Logistics, a cloud-based system that incorporates a sustainability reporting solution. The solution automates CO₂ emissions reporting related to transport and ensures compliance with the EU Taxonomy for sustainable activities.

Maritech has offices in Chile, Iceland, North America and Norway.