Ace Aquatec and Matorka deliver over 97% biomass accuracy for Arctic charr
10 September 2026
Icelandic land-based fish farmer Matorka is using Ace Aquatec’s A-BIOMASS® technology to improve biomass monitoring, production planning and fish welfare across its Arctic charr grow-out operations.
Founded in 2010, Matorka is a vertically integrated land-based aquaculture company in Iceland, producing approximately 1,800 tonnes of Arctic charr annually. Its operations span the full production cycle, from broodstock and hatchery through juvenile production and grow-out, to processing.
As fish move from Matorka’s juvenile facility into large grow-out tanks, obtaining representative manual sample weights becomes increasingly difficult. Selecting random groups of fish for weighing requires significant effort and can involve fish handling that the company wants to minimise.
Previously, Matorka relied on feed response, experience and growth models based on feed conversion ratio (FCR) to estimate fish size and track growth. While these methods provided useful insight, they did not give the team the accurate, real-time biomass data needed to make confident production decisions.
“We needed a better handle on the size of the fish in the tanks,” explains Neil Stallard, Matorka’s Chief Production Officer. “Accurate biomass information allows us to plan harvests and splitting of tank populations more accurately, while also helping us understand fish welfare based on specific feed rates and track the performance of tanks and cohorts against our expected growth models.”
Matorka has been using A-BIOMASS® for around two years, moving the camera between tanks to obtain regular biomass measurements throughout the six-month grow-out cycle. The system provides non-invasive measurements of fish size, removing the need for the extensive manual sampling that was previously required.
As the farm produces Arctic charr rather than Atlantic salmon, the initial accuracy of the system was lower than expected. The two teams therefore worked together on verification sampling and algorithm development to account for the species’ different physical characteristics. This collaborative approach has resulted in A-BIOMASS® now achieving more than 97% accuracy at Matorka, giving the team a reliable source of biomass data to support day-to-day production decisions.
“Getting accurate average weights whenever you need them is a great management tool,” says Stallard. “This has eliminated our guesswork and enabled us to make decisions on when to split or harvest, and how the fish are growing under the existing environmental conditions and feed levels.”
The benefits extend beyond biomass measurement. The live camera feed gives Matorka an additional view of fish behaviour within the tanks, providing valuable information for fish husbandry. The system can also help the team assess total suspended solids (TSS) levels in the water more accurately.
By combining accurate biomass information with knowledge of feed input and environmental conditions, Matorka can now monitor growth more effectively and make better-informed decisions about production flow and fish welfare.
For Ace Aquatec, the project demonstrates the flexibility of A-BIOMASS® in land-based aquaculture and the importance of adapting technology to different species and farming environments.
“The Ace Aquatec team has been a pleasure to work with,” says Stallard. “They are responsive and have been very keen to partner with us in a win-win relationship. The team has put in a lot of effort to achieve the high level of accuracy we can rely on today.”
As land-based aquaculture continues to develop, access to accurate, reliable data will be increasingly important for producers looking to optimise production while maintaining high standards of fish welfare. For Matorka, A-BIOMASS® is helping turn that data into actionable insight, replacing guesswork with a more precise and data-driven approach to Arctic charr farming.
