Aquaculture is vital to feeding the world’s growing population. But a growing aquaculture industry requires new and improved methods of managing the environmental risks inherent in fish farming.

Any given fish farm contains some 500 different components, including nets, ropes, moorings and pipes. All of these parts and pieces of equipment must be monitored, maintained and eventually replaced. Failure to do so can lead to them breaking loose and polluting the marine environment. Moreover, structural weaknesses may allow fish to escape, with resulting negative impacts on wild fish stocks.

NAVIAQ is a complete software solution for managing aquaculture operations, compiling detailed information on all parts and equipment at a fish farm. This includes information on material qualities, weight, installation depths, expected degradation rates, certifications and maintenance.

The system actively alerts the user on the state of the various components. For example, if a net or mooring needs replacement in August, NAVIAQ can send out alerts several months in advance and automatically activate a service order, ensuring predictability and stability in maintenance activities.

This significantly reduces the risk of maintenance failures due to human error and oversight, which is a potential issue when operators must keep track of some 500 components manually.

NAVIAQ’s streamlined all-in-one software solution can significantly reduce the time and costs associated with facility monitoring and maintenance. By one estimate, it can save up to 400 working hours a year at a single site.

The NAVIAQ system also helps aquaculture companies to comply with increasingly stringent regulations for fish farming. Although they vary from country to country, regulations typically set strict benchmarks for construction, materials and maintenance routines – which all have to be documented and certified.

NAVIAQ generates the documentation needed and can accommodate different national and international regulatory frameworks. It also has built-in systems for crew, operations, and risk and safety management.

By 2050, it is expected that 40 per cent of protein consumed worldwide will come from the sea. The demand for environmental monitoring is enormous across the aquaculture industry, and thousands of large and small fish farming facilities across the globe will require efficient maintenance systems in the years to come.

NAVIAQ software solutions are used by fish farms and service vessels along the entire Norwegian coastline and were recently launched on the international market.