![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nueva-pescanova-built-the-worlds-first-intelligent-aquafarm-to-better-feed-the-fish-and-the-world-1.jpg\")
Working with Microsoft, Portugal and his team also adopted new software, added more data-gathering sensors, and floated several automated feeding stations atop the shrimp pond at the Marfrisco Aquafarm. The facility is one of numerous farms operated around the world by Nueva Pescanova<\/a>, a Spain-based company specializing in the fishing, farming, processing and sale of seafood products.<\/p>\n Turns out, it was noisy below the pond\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n The hydrophone detected chewing sounds \u2013 sounds full of data. The software translated that crunchy cacophony into algorithms. Next, those algorithms were uploaded to a platform built with Artificial Intelligence services from Microsoft<\/a>, as well as Microsoft 365<\/a>, Azure<\/a> and Azure IoT<\/a>. And that platform \u2013 dubbed Smartfarm \u2013 told the feeding stations precisely how much food to sprinkle into the water.<\/p>\n Smartfarm solved the underfeeding issue. The shrimp soon plumped up to a normal weight.<\/p>\n \u201cThis was one of the problems we needed to solve using technology, but also to ensure that our farmers wouldn\u2019t be left behind,\u201d said Portugal, general manager of Marfrisco Aquafarm.<\/p>\n Smartfarm is the first solution to emerge from a 2021 collaboration agreement between Nueva Pescanova and Microsoft. The platform interprets an array of data gathered by sensors \u2013 from oxygen levels to shrimp per square meter \u2013 then provides insights and alerts to help aquafarmers maximize harvests, sustainability and animal welfare.<\/p>\n By using Smartfarm\u2019s data-fueled insights, Portugal says he made more informed decisions about how to better sustain his colony. Meanwhile, his workers are busier than ever, using their boats to check the automatic feeders and the system\u2019s connectivity. The aquafarm has even hired additional workers.<\/p>\n As proof, shrimp survival rates climbed from 50% to 80%. At the same time, shrimp yields increased from 800 to 3,200 kilos per acre.<\/p>\n That\u2019s a crucial outcome when it comes to ongoing efforts to feed the world. Each year, global seafood consumption grows by about 4%, says Ignacio Gonzalez, CEO of Nueva Pescanova.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear the sea cannot supply more fish,\u201d Gonzalez says.<\/p>\n As a result, in 10 to 15 years, an estimated 60 percent of the world\u2019s seafood will be grown and harvested via aquaculture, Gonzales explains. Aquaculture involves the breeding and raising of fish, shellfish and plants that are farmed in water.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nueva-pescanova-built-the-worlds-first-intelligent-aquafarm-to-better-feed-the-fish-and-the-world-2.jpg\")
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![\"Pescanova](\"https:\/\/www.sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/04\/nueva-pescanova-built-the-worlds-first-intelligent-aquafarm-to-better-feed-the-fish-and-the-world-4.jpg\")
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