Data science for aquaculture

We're using data science tools and artificial intelligence to optimise the farming of green-lipped mussels and breeding of finfish in open ocean farms.

A $13 million research grant has been awarded through the Strategic Science Investment fund with the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment. The fund’s purpose is to support longer-term underpinning infrastructure and programmes of mission-led science critical to the future of New Zealand’s economy, environment, and wellbeing.

This project focuses on aquaculture and the need for smart, data-driven decision making to help meet the government’s target of aquaculture being a $3 billion industry by 2035. Our team will help develop innovative data science, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine-learning techniques to enable efficient and large-scale growth of the aquaculture industry, and ensure it produces high-quality, low-carbon protein for Aotearoa and the world without compromising the environment.

Our team are developing data science tools to optimise the farming of green-lipped mussels and breeding of finfish in open ocean farms. Farm managers can use this data to drive decision-making when responding to climate challenges, managing disease, improving production yields, and farming sustainably at scale.

The project will also help grow New Zealand’s capacity in this research area by embedding academically trained, early-career scientists across a range of organisations linked to the aquaculture sector, alongside the programmes available and being developed at Te Herenga—Waka Victoria University of Wellington. This will further strengthen this world-class research group, making us and New Zealand a leader in this area.