How Telemetry Can Improve Fish Health

A telemetric helmet which will allow vets to assess fish\r\nhealth remotely has been launched by Stim this month.

Stim – which was\r\nformed by a merger of Europharma’s fish health operations, with Fishguard and\r\nACD Pharma in June – has developed the helmet with a view to allowing site\r\ntechnicians to consult qualified vets remotely.

Combined with a portable 4G transmitter, it enables\r\ntechnicians to consult experts remotely by providing them with a real time view\r\nof whatever they are observing. It has a range of applications but, given\r\nStim’s fish health specialism, it’s no surprise that they see it first and\r\nforemost as a means of improving fish health and biosecurity.

“It means that farm technicians can show any possible fish\r\nhealth issues directly to trained vets,” Thomas Vian Pettersen, business\r\ndevelopment manger for Stim, explains to The Fish Site.

One application that’s already being trialled is using the\r\nhelmet, when combined with an ATP measuring device, to monitor biosecurity\r\naboard vessels such as the state-of-the-art harvesting vessel Norwegian\r\nGannet, which slaughters and transports salmon from fish farms in Norway and\r\nScotland to a processing plant in Denmark.

“They currently have to go via Bergen to consult a vet in\r\nperson, which can mean a 5-6 hour detour, but with technicians on board using\r\nthe system they should be able to avoid such costly delays,” explains\r\nPettersen.

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The system launched on 19 August and the slaughtering\r\nvessel’s owners, Hav Line Group, are one of\r\nthe first customers, while other early adopters are Russian Aquaculture and\r\nPure Shipping. Pettersen expects many others to follow suit as the 200,000\r\nkroner a month rental – which covers both the equipment hire and access to a\r\nSTIM technician – can be quickly paid back.

Source : The Fish Site