In-Naggar, Malta-based aquaculture research and development firm AquaBioTech Group has received further financial support for its collaborative research program run with a university and a seafood firm in China.
The AquaDetector Project, a partnership between Bluefront Equity-backed AquaBioTech, China Agriculture University, and aquaculture firm Mingbo Aquatic Co., is midway through a project to research high-precision detection technologies for monitoring grouper and rainbow trout in recirculating aquaculture systems (RAS).
New extra funds from the Malta Council for Science and Technology (MCST) under its Internationalisation Partnership Awards Scheme Plus will be spent on a “joint research meeting and event in China to facilitate knowledge transfer and support the submission of future collaborative research project proposals,” AquaBioTech spokesperson Dannie O’Brien told SeafoodSource.
“The project has supported the further advancement of one of the [Malta] facility’s research labs with installation of monitoring technologies including overhead cameras, additional probes for advanced water-quality parameters, and integration of automated ‘data-grabbing’ software specifically designed for the purpose of automatic data acquisition,” O’Brien said. “This data will be further analyzed and linked to the condition and behavior of the fish to optimize their health, welfare, and growth through automated monitoring and control of their housing conditions.”
The Chinese government has increasingly backed the development of Chinese aquaculture technology and equipment, including the development of RAS. China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, which is a co-funder of the AquaDetector Project, is one of the drivers behind the country’s ambitions to increase its RAS research and development capacity.
Located in Yantai in the heart of China’s Shandong aquaculture belt, the Chinese corporate partner in the project, Mingbo Aquatic, is focused on growing premium species, including grouper.
The project also has the goal of encouraging young women to pursue careers in science, according to O’Brien.
“These actions will align with the [European Union’s] Water Framework Directive and [China’s] Guidance for Green Development of Aquaculture Industries, the European Green Deal, and the E.U. bio-economy strategy… to minimize the environmental impact of aquaculture,” she said.
Photo courtesy of AquaBioTech Group
