iFarm will transform fish farming from stock management to individualized farming

The Directorate of Fisheries has found that Cermaq’s iFarm concept to be within the scope of the Norwegian development licenses system. Cermaq has applied for ten licenses to implement the technology that will reduce the environmental footprint of farming and bring fish welfare and fish health to a new level as each fish is being individually monitored.

"We are pleased to get the opportunity to develop iFarm, an innovative technology that will strengthen the entire industry. iFarm will effectively reduce the need for sea lice treatment and will enable us to bring fish welfare to a new level by monitoring each fish in the pen, "says Knut Ellekjær, Managing Director of Cermaq Norway.

iFarm is based on photo recognition of the fish. This allows to monitor factors as growth, sea lice, disease, lesions and others aspects that affect the health and welfare of the individual fish.
In addition, it is possible to separate the fish that needs treatment, for example against sea lice. Thus, the extent of sea lice treatments will be dramatically reduced.

“The biological challenges are crucial for the success of farming in a sustainable way. iFarm is based on biological competence and has many parallels to what we have in agriculture and the food sector. Digitization and machine learning make it possible to monitor each fish individually without stressing the fish. This makes it an important tool for safeguarding our fish and a giant leap for fish farming, "says Harald Takle, technology research director and project manager for iFarm.

The development of iFarm includes series of testing and model testing as well as full scale operation to achieve sufficient volume for machine learning with the required precision level.

"We are excited and very eager to get started soon. In the future there will be stricter requirements to farming. iFarm will be an effective tool that will reduce the environmental impact while ensuring fish welfare for each fish. The technology can be used in open net pens as well as in closed systems," says Geir Stang Hauge CEO of BioSort.

For further information, please contact:

Harald Takle, R&D Manager Farming Technology Cermaq Group, mobil +47 911 19 945

Knut Ellekjær, Managing Director Cermaq Norway, mobil +47 928 99 604

Cermaq is one of the world's leading companies in farming of salmon and trout, with operations in Norway, Chile and Canada. Cermaq is a fully owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corporation with head office in Oslo, Norway.