In-Naggar, Malta-based aquaculture research and development firm AquaBioTech Group has partnered with the China Agricultural University and aquaculture firm Mingbo Aquatic Co. to research high-precision detection technologies for monitoring grouper and rainbow trout.
Backed by the Sino-Malta Fund and funded by the Chinese and Maltese governments, the two-year AquaDetector research project is conducting tests at recirculating aquaculture (RAS) facilities in Malta with a view to using the research outcomes more broadly across China and Europe.
Research is conducted at AquaBioTech’s experimental wet labs in Malta, company spokesperson Dannie O’Brien told SeafoodSource. The labs, she said, “have the next-generation aquaculture RAS system with full on-site monitoring and camera technology for monitoring fish behavior.”
“Through the project, we will gain greater modelled and data driven knowledge on how interacting water-quality indicators can be predicted and controlled for optimal environment,” O’Brien said.
The main aim of the project, O’Brien said, is to “promote greater productivity and sustainability of the aquaculture industry through optimizing growth of juveniles in RAS and investigating to high detail through [computational fluid dynamic] modeling and image-capture integration behavior monitoring.”
The project is also examining fish health through “further development of high-precision detection technologies, optimal environmental conditions, and water quality,” O’Brien said.
During the project’s launch four months ago, AquaBioTech Group Business Development Director George D. Mantas said he hoped the AquaDetector project will lead to improvements in the sustainability metrics of RAS aquaculture, and an improved relationship between Malta and China.
“This collaboration is a step towards building strong partnerships with Chinese counterparts promoting research, innovation, and trade between our countries,” Mantas said.
The Chinese corporate partner in the project, Mingbo Aquatic, is located in Yantai in the heart of China’s Shandong aquaculture belt, and has recently focused on premium species, including grouper. The project co-funder, China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, is one of the drivers behind the country’s ambitions to increase its R&D capacity and to become more self-reliant in key technologies. Its investment suggests the Chinese government is eager to expand its knowledge of RAS technology.
Photo courtesy of AquaBioTech Group
