Fish welfare at World Aquaculture Conference

Kadri recently arrived from Southern Chile to take up the position of professor of Tropical Aquaculture at Charles Darwin University's (CDU) Research Institute of Northern Agriculture (RINA), and presented his research at the World Aquaculture Conference 2023 which was held in Darwin.

The fish welfare project is looking at ways to monitor the welfare status of whole fish populations within farms and predict disease outbreaks to enable early interventions.

Kadri said a hydroacoustic system can monitor the behavioural patterns of most of the fish population in large cages even when water quality and light levels are poor for observing fish behaviour using more conventional methods.

"This project is an important piece of work. The aquacultural industry continues to grow globally and the fast-paced nature of the industry means that it is becoming more automated, and the monitoring of fish health and welfare becomes increasingly challenging and crucial," Professor Kadri said.

The project, which is midway through, involves collecting and analysing data to determine behavioural signatures related to specific stressors and health events.

"We use a sonar system that detects individual fish positions based on the echo from their swim bladder and this allows us to monitor population behaviour 24/7," Kadri said.

"We have used this system to collect data over an extended period on a number of commercial salmon farms. A previous study using a basic version of the same system revealed its capability to detect disease indicators over a month prior to detection using standard procedures."

"The results so far have demonstrated the usefulness of the system to detect various stress events as well as monitor recovery times from such events."

"In order to deliver robust disease prediction tools to farmers however, we need to collect more datasets enhanced with metadata regarding farming operations."

Kadri has more than 30 years’ experience in the Aquaculture industry with his research primarily focused on fish behaviour and welfare.

At CDU, Kadri would like to bring his knowledge and experience to help address the challenges of the aquaculture sector here in Northern Australia and Southeast Asia, including the Norwegian project, which he continues to oversee. His interests also include playing a role in the development of the Indigenous aquaculture space in the NT, something that he is already involved in in his home country of New Zealand.

"I am excited to bring my experience to the Northern Territory's aquaculture sector and I think we should look to bring the concept we are developing in Norway to the Northern Territory and the wider region to make a real difference to the aquaculture industry here," Kadri said.

Funded by the Commonwealth Government, RINA is supported by project partners including; the Department of Tourism, Industry and Trade (DITT), NT Farmers, NT cattleman's Association, NT Seafood Council, Murdoch University, James Cook University and Central Queensland University (CQU).

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