Page 27: of Marine Technology Magazine (April 2011)

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 27 designed. All received data from the APB505 buoy are automatically stored in a central data base. As soon as new data sets arrive in the database, they are automatically ana- lyzed by an expert software, which evaluates the informa- tion from each sensor and calculates a total welfare index.

The index rates the total welfare by a presenting it on a scale from 0 (terrible) to 100 (excellent). The results are immediately transferred to the fish farmer via the internet.

The welfare index is based on a model of the capacity of the fish to extract oxygen from the water and is a measure for how much additional stress the fish can tolerate. The fish farmer can use the welfare index to improve the fish welfare by managing circulation, meal times, meal com- position and time for next net cleaning. This will con- tribute to increased fish welfare and improve the fish farm productivity. Equally important: The fish farmer gets a reliable day to day documentation of the general welfare situation in the pen. This may be needed when the fish are sold. www.saivas.no

APB505 Buoy.