Breaking established boundaries in fish farming with technology and automation from Guard Automation

The technology company Ovum has developed and tested a floating closed aquaculture facility named Egget.

Technical Director at Ovum, Åsmund Hellesøy, has worked at the company for the past five years. He says that Guard Automation has been a crucial partner since 2019.

”We came to Guard with plans, drawings and a vision to make the aquaculture industry more sustainable. We needed an automation partner with deep technical expertise, the ability to execute, and the willingness to help solve complex challenges that might arise along the way. Guard has delivered here. They have been absolutely crucial in the development,” says Hellesøy.

Division Manager Aquaculture for Guard in Bergen, Aleksander Mork-Knudsen, explains that the project is among the most innovative and demanding projects the company has been involved in.

”It has been incredibly rewarding to be part of taking the idea from the sketch stage to a pilot project in active operation,” he says.

Operations are monitored and optimised using 300 different signals

Mork-Knudsen explains that seven employees at Guard have contributed everything from consulting and system design to programming the automation system, operations and monitoring systems, coordinating the electrical installation, as well as custom-built switchboard panels.

”Over 300 different signals are logged and monitored. We collect sensor values to monitor water quality such as pH, turbidity, CO2, total gas pressure, O2 saturation and concentration, temperature and more. Everything must work seamlessly at all times to ensure optimal living and growth conditions for the fish. In addition, we monitor critical systems such as oxygen dosing, the fire panel, emergency power supplies, pumps and fuses. In the event of an incident, the farm operators receive immediate notifications via SMS and log in through the mobile app to take control,” says Mork-Knudsen.

The advanced technical infrastructure makes the management of the closed aquaculture facility fully automated. This enables, among other things, precise regulation of oxygen levels, customised fish feeding, remote control of all pumps, and controlled emergency operation of the facility.

The operations monitoring system is customised in Guard Cloud, giving Ovum and the operations manager at the facility easy access to crucial operational data. In addition to data from the process itself, Guard has integrated cameras with a live video feed from Egget and logs weather data and forecasts for the area. Ovum also uses this system for monitoring and optimising energy consumption on Egget.

Successful pilot project

After several years of development, testing and refinements, the first version of Egget was launched in the Romsdalsfjord in Møre og Romsdal in the autumn of 2022. 50,000 smolt were released into the 21-metre-tall facility, and in March 2023 the fish were harvested. Hellesøy explains that the pilot was a success.

”Veterinarians, biologists and technical experts have followed the pilot project closely. The fish thrived, grew quickly, and there was no disease,” he says. When the fish reached 1.1 kilograms, they were removed from Egget and transferred to a standard open-net pen.

Mortality in traditional open-net pens for production up to 1 kg is between 6-8 per cent and in some cases higher. In comparison, the mortality rate in the pilot project was 1.2 per cent and the feed conversion ratio was 0.86 up until the fish were harvested, according to Hellesøy.

”We have learned an incredible amount from the pilot project and are now making several improvements. The few fish that died made powerful leaps above the water surface and hit their heads against the wall. This has been resolved with a kind of crash mat that cushions the impact. But the biggest improvement is related to how we crowd the fish when they are to be removed from Egget. In the first round we had some issues,” Hellesøy acknowledges. ”In the second round it went brilliantly, and only 0.1 per cent died from the handling. We are very pleased with that,” Hellesøy smiles.

He points out that the innovation solves many major challenges facing the aquaculture industry.

”The closed facility prevents the fish from escaping and reduces emissions of fish waste, while also improving fish health. Sea lice were not a problem in the facility, which has a major impact on how fast the fish grow because treating sea lice puts a significant damper on growth,” says Hellesøy.

Big ambitions

Ovum is entering an exciting time with the production of several eggs of the same size as the pilot, as well as larger facilities to be tested.

”We would not be where we are today without solid assistance from Guard. They have been and will remain an important partner for us in the future. It is clear that they are genuinely committed to our success,” says Hellesøy, who makes no secret of the company’s ambitious plans:

”We aim to become a leader in the production of floating closed aquaculture systems and are well underway with designing the next generation of Egget. It has a production capacity that is a full 10 times that of the Egget used in our first pilot project, and will be as tall as Bergen City Hall.”

Division Manager Aquaculture for Guard, Aleksander Mork-Knudsen, thanks them for their trust and looks forward to the continued cooperation.

”We are impressed by Ovum’s vision and find it incredibly rewarding to be part of the technology development to make aquaculture more environmentally friendly,” he concludes.