Scales of economy tip in Tassie’s favour

Tasmanian technology is leading the way with a new $20 million remote feeding system that is set to revolutise the salmon industry, writes Jack Paynter

MORE than 15 million fish will be fed from one room on the Hobart waterfront, thanks to computer power being harnessed by salmon farmer Tassal.

Through the $20 million investment, a world-leading remote feeding centre will be connected by fibre-optic cable to 300 underwater cameras at Tassal farms around the state, allowing the distribution of food pellets to millions of fish each day with the click of a mouse.

A team of eight feed technicians will each be responsible for satisfying the hunger of 1.87 million fish by monitoring the high-definition video stream from 20 farms, ranging from Okehampton Bay on the East Coast, around the South-East coastline and to Macquarie Harbour on the West Coast.

“On the farm in the old days, these guys would be feeding fish with a scoop,” Tassal head of aquaculture Mark Asman said.

“Everybody here has been feeding fish on the farm for years and years, so they’re very experienced.

“It sounds simple delivering feed to the fish, but fish have behaviours. [The feed technicians] get to know each farm, each pen, how it’s going to behave in different conditions.”

He said they were probably the best group of feeders he had seen in his 30 years in the aquaculture industry, which includes international experience for companies with operations in Chile, Canada, the United States and Panama.

The technology allows Tassal to measure the dissolved oxygen levels, water temperature, currents and salinity levels — there’s even potential to weigh the fish. This all means a huge boost for operational efficiency.

Since the first farm came online in February, Tassal has experienced an 11 per cent improvement in its feed conversion ratio.

Tassal has previously faced criticism for the amount of fish excrement and excess pellets left on the sea floor, but chief information officer Matt Leary said this reduced food waste saved a lot of time and helped to keep staff safe.

“Feeding is actually our single biggest cost to the business, and it’s probably the most important driver of fish performance,” Mr Leary said.

He said that with the help of Tasmanian ICT companies Intuit Technology and Steinsvik, Tassal had built its own wireless and fibre-optic network that reached out to each individual pen.

Dane Bignell, executive director of Intuit, which built the network from the feeding centre in Hobart to a barge stationed at each fish farm, said because there was no previous infrastructure in most of the areas, the project had the potential to benefit other businesses and the broader community.

Aquaculture technology firm Steinsvik — which has supplied Tassal with feeding systems for more than a decade — extended the network from the barge to each pen, and had to employ 12 more Tasmanians due to the scale of the project.

“We were two people, one other and myself, when we started this process,’’ said Steinsvik general manager Peter Letters.

“We’ve since expanded to 14 and are still hiring.”

He said Tassal was the first company in the world to fully embrace the remote feeding strategy.

While Tassal continues to develop its remote feeding technology, it has experienced some offline hiccups, with feeders sent back out to the barges to deliver food the “old-fashioned” way.

However, all of Tassal’s farms are expected to be online by the end of the year, and the feed technician team is expected to be expanded from eight to 12 as more sites come online.