Piscada leverages AI to optimise fish feeding in sea-based aquaculture

In aquaculture nations such as Chile and Norway, digitalisation is revolutionising farmed fish production. This is great news for an industry widely recognised for improving nutrition and food security around the globe. Digitalisation not only optimises operations, it also reduces the environmental impact of fish farms, especially sea-based facilities which have been criticised for their negative effect on the marine ecosystem.

“Digitalisation can integrate existing hardware into a homogenous environment, giving fish farmers more control over their operations, including environmental impact,” explains Pedersen.

Piscada employs IoT and AI to give fish farmers strict control over their feeding operations. “Our solution boosts control through remote feeding and operation of multiple sea sites from a central location,” explains Pedersen.

Read more: A complete solution for sea-based aquaculture

In a Remote Operator Centre (ROC), operators sit in front of numerous screens where they view real-time video from submerged cameras. By observing fish behaviour and other factors, operators make optimal feeding decisions for each individual pen. One ROC can be used to control the feeding of up to 300 pens.

Piscada combines video from the feeding operation with all other relevant information in a One Screen Control Interface. “We deliver the most efficient interface for a feed operator available,” he says. “Our solution collects and sorts the information, providing actionable data for real-time decision-making.”

Through centrally managed feeding, operators can optimise the feeding process, reducing feed waste and environmental impact.

“Excess feed pollutes the marine ecosystem and attracts invasive species. It also results in feed overproduction, which has a carbon footprint. It’s therefore crucial to produce and use only the amount of feed needed and no more,” says Pedersen.

In addition, AI-based precision feeding promotes optimal growth of the farmed fish, helps to reduce disease and mortality, and will eventually lead to autonomous feeding operations.

Another benefit is substantially reduced operating costs. “Less feed waste translates directly into money saved from less feed purchased. But not only that – more fish can be fed with fewer hours of labour,” he explains.

The global aquaculture market is expected to grow from USD 290 billion in 2022 to USD 421 billion by 2030.

Piscada has 10 years of aquaculture experience, and its solution has captured almost 50 per cent of the Norwegian market in feeding operations. In addition, the company sells directly to Scotland and, through its partners, to every country in the world with an aquaculture industry. Piscada has plans to further expand internationally.

As a company, Piscada offers next-generation cloud-based systems for various industries. Its core competencies are software development, industrial automation and IT, and analytics and optimisation. Today Piscada also delivers a building management system (BMS) for commercial properties.

“Our platform is now ready for adoption in other industries as well,” concludes Pedersen.