A new collaboration aiming to learn more about the way shrimp eat could revolutionize the shrimp-farming industry.
The goal of the study is to develop high-tech marine research and development to increase yields, enhance sustainability and improve the health and quality of farmed shrimp.
Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and aquaculture technology company AQ1 Systems are developing software that uses mathematical algorithms to analyze shrimp consumption and growth patterns.
“More efficient feeding of prawns will reduce cost, waste and potential contamination of the environment around farms from nutrient rich effluent,” said Bruce Lee, a CSIRO director.
The research involves developing software to analyze the sound shrimp make when they eat. Researchers hope the audio information will reveal behaviors such as which feed shrimp prefer and how they move around a pond throughout the day.
“The demand for farmed prawns is expected to increase rapidly, but the industry is still heavily reliant on manual labor and unsophisticated feed-management systems,” said AQ1’s Ross Dodd. “From the perspective of the technology used to farm prawns, the industry is currently back where the salmon industry was 15 years ago.”
