Simulate the impact of harvesting and delousing before decisions are made
“We see that many critical decisions today are based on experience and gut feeling. With Aquabyte Decision Support, we want to give farmers a tool that allows them to simulate different choices before they are made, and see the actual impact those choices will have on lice development, fish welfare, and the company’s profitability,” says Thea Margrethe Østervold Hufthammer, Product Manager at Aquabyte.
Simulate and compare
Aquabyte Decision Support allows farmers to simulate and test measures such as full or partial harvest and delousing, both at pen and site level. The results are displayed immediately in Aquabyte Decision Support, showing the expected impact of each choice on biomass, lice levels, and welfare – for individual pens as well as for the entire site.
Scenarios can be duplicated, saved, or locked to compare different plans over time. Farmers can also see the impact of choosing not to take any action.
“Aquabyte Decision Support helps you understand the consequences of different decisions before they are implemented. You can test scenarios, compare alternatives, and choose the strategy that delivers the greatest value,” explains Hufthammer.
With support from Innovation Norway
Aquabyte Decision Support is a tool with the potential to have significant ripple effects on how the aquaculture industry assesses situations and makes the right decisions throughout the production cycle. This potential is also recognised by Innovation Norway, which is supporting the development with a grant of NOK 8 million.
“Aquabyte is an innovative company and a driving force for data-driven aquaculture, with a strong focus on improving fish welfare. Their decision support tool is an exciting and ambitious project that can help strengthen the competitiveness of the Norwegian aquaculture industry, and is therefore an important initiative for us to support,” says Lene Sælen, Senior Adviser for Vestland at Innovation Norway.
Plan smarter – take action earlier
By analysing biological, environmental, and operational conditions in real time, the tool shows how different measures affect the production, enabling farmers to make the most informed decisions on lice treatments and harvesting. All choices and scenarios are logged, providing full transparency and a solid foundation for learning over time.
“When you understand how different measures will impact both welfare and production, you can plan more precisely and avoid misguided interventions. The result is better fish welfare and lower costs,” says Hufthammer.
A complete basis for decision-making
Aquabyte Decision Support combines data on fish numbers, growth, and market prices to help farmers make better use of MAB, identify the right time to harvest, and improve profitability. The tool functions as a 14-day planning tool and represents the first step toward Aquabyte’s vision of holistic, autonomous decision support for aquaculture.
“This marks the beginning of a new way of working. The technology doesn’t just help you see what’s happening — it also helps you understand what to do next,” says Hufthammer.
Towards more sustainable and efficient operations
Aquabyte Decision Support has been developed in close collaboration with fish farmers to address their real-world needs. The tool provides a shared, data-driven foundation for planning and enables more efficient, predictable, and sustainable production. Aquabyte will continue to further develop the solution in close cooperation with customers — and with support from Innovation Norway — ensuring that future features and capabilities are always grounded in the real needs on the pens.
“When decisions are driven by real-time data, we achieve better fish welfare, more precise measures, and a safer day-to-day operation for those making the decisions,” concludes Thea Margrethe Østervold Hufthammer.
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