Behaviour monitoring helps farmers detect challenges earlier

Behaviour monitoring helps farmers detect challenges earlier

Behaviour monitoring has been the missing piece in achieving complete insight into the fish’s condition and status in the pen. Using video, artificial intelligence, and advanced machine learning, Aquabyte BEHAVIOUR delivers precise data on swimming speed, swim tilt, and breathing index.

– With this behavioural data, fish farmers can detect biological and technical challenges at an earlier stage, says Kristin Aase, Insight Manager at Aquabyte.

Swim tilt uncovered an issue with the air dome

Kristin Aase, Insight Manager at Aquabyte

The behaviour module complements Aquabyte’s existing solutions for weight estimation, welfare scoring, and automatic lice counting. By monitoring fish behaviour in the pen, farmers gain data and insights that provide early warnings when something is wrong.

– One example comes from a customer with production in submerged pens. Our behaviour monitoring uncovered that the fish in one of the pens had an unusually high swim tilt – meaning it was swimming with its head higher than the rest of its body. High tilt occurs when the fish is unable to fill its swim bladder, causing it to lose the ability to maintain proper buoyancy, explains Kristin Aase.

– When the customer was made aware of the issue, the air dome – which provides the fish with access to air at a depth of 35 meters – was inspected. It turned out that the dome had a serious technical fault. The problem was corrected, and shortly after, the fish began swimming with normal tilt again, says Kristin.

– Without behaviour monitoring, the issue with the air dome could have gone unnoticed. And if the fish had been without access to air for too long, the consequences could have been severe, concludes Kristin.

Challenges related to air supply and low oxygen levels can be detected by monitoring the fish’s swim tilt. High tilt occurs when the fish swims with its head higher than the rest of its body. In Aquabyte BEHAVIOUR, data on swim tilt is updated every hour.

More efficient and accurate recording of swim speed

Camera-based monitoring of welfare and behaviour plays a crucial role in submerged production, where it is otherwise challenging to observe the fish. Automated behaviour monitoring also makes it easier to meet the requirement for recording swim speed in submerged pens.

In submerged production, there is a requirement to record swim speed, but monitoring swimming speed also provides valuable insights in other types of production. The video on the left shows fish swimming at a normal speed, while the video on the right shows fish that are stressed.

When fish are in submerged pens, there is a requirement to monitor and record it’s swim speed. Previously, this has been done using a stopwatch and video footage from the feeding camera. It’s both imprecise and time-consuming for those carrying out the task. With our new behaviour module, swim speed is measured automatically, continuously, and with high precision. This saves a significant amount of time and effort, says Kristin Aase.

The value of automatic monitoring of swim speed goes far beyond the requirements for submerged pens. Monitoring swim speed is an important indicator of the fish’s stress level – whether they are held at depth or in standard surface pens.

– Stress can be caused by poor oxygen levels, but also by intruder fish, algal blooms, or boats passing too close to the pen. With our behaviour monitoring, farmers get hourly updates on swim speed. This allows them to closely monitor what’s happening in the pen and quickly identify the cause of stress and discomfort in the fish. Having clear insight into the fish’s stress level is crucial before making decisions about delousing, population splitting, or harvest timing. This is about both good fish welfare and sound economics, emphasizes Kristin.

Breathing indicates oxygen deficiency or gill issues.

A key component of Aquabyte’s behaviour module is the monitoring of the fish’s breathing index. This index is based on observations of the fish’s movements and reflects how much water it needs to pass through its gills to absorb sufficient oxygen. Changes in the breathing index can reveal issues related to low oxygen levels – or indicate early signs of compromised gill health.

In collaboration with Tina Oldham and the Institute of Marine Research (Havforskningsinstituttet), Aquabyte has conducted trials that verify the correlation between the breathing index and oxygen levels in the water. When oxygen levels are low, the fish’s respiration index increases.

Changes in the fish’s breathing index can provide early warnings of challenges related to both biology and the environment. A high breathing index means the fish must pass large volumes of water through its gills to absorb enough oxygen. We observe that lower oxygen levels in the water lead to a higher respiration index in the fish – and vice versa, says Kristin, and continues:

– There is a clear correlation between low oxygen levels and a high breathing index. But it’s when oxygen levels remain consistently high and the breathing index still increases that warning lights should go off. A high breathing index in oxygen-rich water may indicate health-related issues in the fish – most likely linked to gill health. In such cases, behaviour monitoring functions as a vital early warning system. It makes it possible to detect problems sooner and take the right actions before it’s too late, concludes Kristin Aase at Aquabyte.

Learn more about Aquabyte BEHAVIOUR