Ace Aquatec helps drive production improvements from cutting edge biomass technology at Mount Cook Alpine Salmon

16 September 2024

Aquaculture technology company Ace Aquatec is expanding the presence of their products into Oceania, as New Zealand-based king salmon producer Mount Cook Alpine Salmon continues to see enormous benefits from their award-winning A-BIOMASS® camera at their site in Mount Cook.

A-BIOMASS® is an advanced underwater camera designed to bring more efficiency and precision to biomass measurement and distributions of a range of fish species.  The camera utilises machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to achieve real-time millimetre accuracy. Weighing just 8.5kg, this fully automated camera is smaller and easier to deploy than many others on the market.  It leverages the latest AI technologies to ensure consistent average weight and accurate distribution over multiple harvests as they enter their second year of rental.

Mount Cook Alpine Salmon’s farms are located within a network of continuously flowing waterways, connecting three alpine lakes and creating a unique set of circumstances for the A-BIOMASS® camera. The camera’s unique training processes allows Ace Aquatec to tackle some of the toughest environments, like glacial melt water, low light conditions (starlight visibility) and a variety of fish types. This new precision has enabled Alpine Salmon to identify which fish to harvest whilst significantly minimising handling, thereby reducing stress for the fish and creating a safer and less labour-intensive environment for workers. 

The device is already improving efficacy for the salmon producer, which markets its products both domestically and as international exports, with 97% accuracy averaged over multiple harvests over the last 18 months, and individual harvests as high as 99.75%. 

The partnership marks a milestone moment for Ace Aquatec as other farmers in New Zealand now look to replicate the success of Ace Aquatec’s biomass system. 

Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at Ace Aquatec said: “Our partnership with Mount Cook Alpine Salmon reflects the global appeal of our products, as we bring Scottish-born technology to the other side of the planet. We’re already seeing that this installation is generating buzz around the benefits of the A-BIOMASS® device, and we’re looking forward to expanding its presence in this region and worldwide.” 

Jon Bailey, General Manager at Mount Cook Alpine Salmon, added: “The advanced A-BIOMASS® camera technology has consistently been very precise, with predictions aligning closely to our actual harvest rates and showing increased accuracy across multiple harvests over the past 18 months. Individual harvest results have significantly improved, and we hope to expand the use of these devices across more sites in the future to further optimise our operations”.