Scotland's Ace Aquatec is expanding its presence into Oceania, and specifically New Zealand after a successful commercial trial of its underwater A-Biomass camera at a king salmon farmer, it announced.

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The camera, launched in late summer last year, uses artificial intelligence to measure fish biomass within a pen in real-time, allowing farmers to pursue a consistent average weight and average distribution for each batch. The firm also stresses the light 8.5kg weight of the camera, which allows for easy installation and movement between sites.

Over the past year, one A-Biomass camera has been installed at a site belonging to New Zealand king salmon producer Mount Cook Alpine Salmon. Mount Cook's salmon are produced in a landscape where three alpine lakes are connected, presenting a tough environment for hardware to function in glacial melt water, low light conditions, and a variety of fish types.

The camera has reportedly helped identify which fish are ready to harvest, minimizing the need for excessive handling, and reducing farmhand labor efforts.

John Bailey, the farm's general manager, said the camera has "consistently been very precise, with predictions aligning closely to our actual harvest rates and showing increased accuracy across multiple harvests over the past 18 months."

"Individual harvest results have significantly improved, and we hope to expand the use of these devices across more sites in the future to further optimize our operations."

For its part, Ace Aquatec hopes the success of its partnership with Mount Cook will encourage other king salmon farmers in the country to adopt the A-Biomass camera.

"Our partnership with Mount Cook Alpine Salmon reflects the global appeal of our products, as we bring Scottish-born technology to the other side of the planet," said Tara McGregor-Woodhams, chief sales and marketing officer at Ace Aquatec. "We're already seeing that this installation is generating buzz around the benefits of the A-Biomass device, and we're looking forward to expanding its presence in this region and worldwide."