Fish sorting technology firm aims to modernize farms

As VP of AgTech at Trendlines, an investment firm in Israel, Maya Schushan Orgad has assessed current aquaculture technology and concluded that it’s “medieval” and lagging behind other food sectors that have embraced automation. That’s why she seized the opportunity to invest in Agam, an Israeli company developing an automatic, in-habitat fish sorting and counting system.

Launched in 2018, Agam has been working on an in-water, sensor-based and electro-mechanical system that consists of a sorting cage and storing net with the goal of automating the labor-intensive tasks of sorting and counting on fish farms while improving accuracy and harvest yield.

With Trendlines’ support as well as funding by the Israeli Innovation Authority, Agam has reached the proof-of-concept stage after testing a prototype in three inland fish farms, sorting and counting three tons a day of fish like tilapia and carp, two of the world’s most important commercially produced species.

Fish farmers at both large and small operations know the challenge of having to manually catch fish to assess their size for optimal harvest times.

Read the full interview at Aquaculture Alliance.