Seafood company Thai Union is piloting satellite imaging for shrimp farming operations in collaboration with satellite data analytics company, Sea Warden, and supply chain traceability company, Wholechain.
The group began using the technology in late 2021.
Key Data Elements
Thai Union is aiming to encourage the use of innovative technologies to promote sustainable seafood production.
Through this initiative, the company aims to generate Key Data Elements (KDEs) for shrimp farms that are automated, independently verifiable, and cost-effective.
Integrated with traceability technology, the KDEs collected through satellite imaging have the potential to support sustainable farming practices through insights into shrimp populations, farm health, contamination, and more.
Adam Brennan, group director of sustainability for Thai Union, said, "Accessing reliable information for shrimp farms across wide geographies can be both challenging and expensive.
"We see exciting potential in the use of satellite imaging to improve our transparency, assess risk and monitor the performance of our shrimp farms. We will continue to explore ways to use satellite technology as it continues to evolve."
Thai Union Pioneering Satellite Use In Aquaculture
Satellites have imaged the earth for more than 50 years across many industries including agriculture, forestry, and wild capture fisheries, but it is still an emerging technology within aquaculture.
In recent years, certain KDEs have been promoted widely by sustainability and traceability advocates within the seafood industry to address the lack of data available to importers/retailers/consumers in order to make more responsible purchasing decisions, Thai Union noted.
Sea Warden and Wholechain have collaborated to create a list of KDEs that cross-reference those attainable through satellite observation with those required by the Global Dialogue on Seafood Traceability (GDST), Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP), and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), as well as additional KDEs that represent opportunities for substantiating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets for seafood industry stakeholders.
© 2022 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest Technology news. Article by Conor Farrelly. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
