The space dedicated to the exhibition of different products and services by companies and institutions related to the aquaculture sector left a positive balance.

Last week the second edition of the Innaqua Conference, event organized by the Aquaculture Innovation Club which took place between Tuesday 26 and Thursday 28 September in the city of Puerto Varas, Los Lagos Region.

The event included ten sessions and the participation of 25 speakers, as well as more than 430 attendees, who learned about the latest developments in innovation, variability and climate change, future feeding, technologies, bioengineering and bioinformatics, sustainability, among other topics related to Chilean and global aquaculture.

During the three days of the Conference also the implementation of Expo Innaqua, space intended for the display of different products and services by companies and institutions linked to the aquaculture sector.

In this instance, various technologies were shown around the aquaculture industry, in addition to the realization of alliances between companies that provide this important productive area.

Results of Chilean technological innovations

One of the companies that was present, both with stand and also at the exhibitions of the Innaqua Conference, was SalmoClinic. Hans Kossmann, general manager of the firm, he said that “as partners of the Aquaculture Innovation Club, we are super happy with the call and quality of the exhibitors, in addition to the excellent organization of the event. We are very pleased because, although we had had a first online version of the pandemic, this edition was a success.”

The representative of SalmoClinic also stressed the opportunity to present the results of the first year of operation of the “Owurkan” vesselwith excellent results “which demonstrate that it is possible to develop high-quality technological innovation in Chile”, Kossmann said Partnerfish.

Stop Álex Pérez, general manager of Patagonia ROV, the high level of the organization and of the exhibitors was what most caught the attention in the meeting held in Puerto Varas.

“He left the rod very high as to what could be done in 2025 (next edition of Innaqua). I highlight the enthusiasm of the participants for participating in the technical talks, as well as visits to the stands.”

According to the executive of the company underwater robotics“As a company we did quite well, as we were able to make known the work that we have been working on deep seabed inspections for eight years, along with commenting and showing the progress we are making, both in biostatistical studies of the bottoms, and the implementation of a comprehensive management system for crop areas.”

Innovations for fresh water and sea water

Catalina Barros, who is Key Account Manager of Aolab, emphasized the possibility of generating new contacts in the aquaculture industry: “Since we have been in the field for a short time, the idea was to be able to meet with our clients, who are from most salmoniccultor companies, as well as to make ourselves known to those we do not yet have in our customer portfolio,” said Catalina Barros.

The executive added that the Expo Innaqua was established as an excellent instance to show the technology that Aolab is providing to the industry, stating that it is a type of analysis that was not available to companies in the sector.

“We came to show a Danish brand that we represent, which is BactiQuant, through which services can be generated in water matrix, where bacteria and total road fungi are determined, which is very important in fish farming, for example, to maintain the microbiological quality of water,” he explained.

By the same token, the General Manager of Alsur Engineering, Gerardo Cárdenas, highlighted the collaborative spirit of the meeting, with many people interested in knowing the innovations that were presented. “Many were surprised to learn about the technologies we showed. We made quite a few contacts with people from Ecuador, Norway and Peru,” Cárdenas said.

The representative of Alsur Engineering explained that they exhibited their web platform (AlsurCheck), through which it is possible to obtain the traceability of floating structures. “The idea is that the customer can manage and keep informed of all the fixed assets that he has floating at sea. We were pioneers in developing this type of software, and over time we have implemented improvements based on customer reality. On the other hand, there is added value to the service we deliver and we also provide inspections focused on the safety of people,” said Gerardo Cárdenas, who announced that they are developing a system for detecting observations or deficiencies in infrastructures, operating ROVs (remotely operated vehicles) and drones through artificial intelligence, thus being able to grant greater efficiency in carrying out inspections.

Inter-firm partnerships

Stop Marcia Arias, commercial manager of Alaya Digital SolutionsInnaqua was a successful event in terms of organization and convening. “It was a good place to share among all those who move in this world, and thus make known the innovations that each one brings,” said Arias, who also emphasized the alliance that took place with Patagonia ROV.

“We jointly developed a solution, which is related to the data captured by Patagonia ROV, that joins with the data processing and prediction by Alaya, with the aim of determining and anticipating the degradation of the seabed, before reaching a remedy of these. The idea is to take previous actions and be much more sustainable over time.“ ” added the representative of the digital solutions company.

In case of Franco Aguirre, head of business development at Cunloganboth the Conference and the Expo Innaqua exceeded expectations as to the level of attendance. “We knew it was an innovation-oriented event, but we liked it as there was a lot of presence of people linked to the areas of food, environment and analytics, among others. We came to show solutions in terms of predictions based on anticipating dissolved oxygen for the next 48 hours. We already provide our solutions to salmon producing companies, but we want to continue to grow in the area,” Aguirre said.

Another company present at Expo Innaqua was DVS Technology, a firm specializing in the conservation of the seabed and water bodies. According to Rodrigo Terrile, Head of Environment and Regulatory Affairs at DVS TechnologyThere were many consultations and people interested in what the company is doing, managing several meetings for the following days.

This firm showed, among other innovations, a water bodies displacer (DMA), which is a solution to improve the quality of marine or freshwater water, allowing water bodies to be treated when they are already contaminated or to prevent them from being contaminated by, inter alia, production processes.

Energry also had a stand at Expo Innaqua. Rossana Andrade, the company's sales manager, explained to Partnerfish that at the exhibition showed their high-tech photoperiod system, which incorporates state-of-the-art LEDs and programmable drivers, allowing them to deliver the energy that salmon requires to prevent their sexual maturation, as well as to optimize food conversion and weight gain.

“We currently have Pryview, a real-time remote monitoring system for our photoperiod systems. This software allows users to remotely track the operation of the photoperiod system of each culture center and also monitor the main electrical parameters of the center“ Andrade said.

Joint participation with Corfo

Matías Vera, Business Development Manager at VeHiCestressed that his participation with a stand in Innaqua 2023, in connection with two of the main technological programmes (PTECs) of the Corporation for the Promotion of Production (Corfo), as are the Technological Programme for the Local Production of Nutritional Insumes for Aquaculture (PTEC-INVA) and the Strategic Technological Programme for the Development of Oceanic Aquaculture (PTECAO)It was a very interesting instance.

“As information from two technological programs is being exhibited, the PTEC-INVA and PETECAO, both powered by Corfo, and which together encompass much of the aquaculture services, from the ocean to the agro and food world, have attracted much of the people who attended the fair. Most of the people who pass through the stand have been interested in what we are doing; we too like VeHiCe show them how from the pathological analysis part we are conducting the evaluation of dietary issues“ Vera said.

In his opinion, the above also allowed to generate new links and ties with people from the private and public sectors, universities, researchers, professionals who are in the productive area, among others.

Opinion shared by the Dr. Daniel Nieto Díaz-Muñoz, manager of PTEC-INVA, who revealed that this event brought together people interested in the world of innovation.

“When you look at all the stands there are and evaluate the profile of those attending the talks, and in turn one participates in them, you realize that innovation is the core of which Innaqua tour,” Dr. Nieto, adding that “in our case, as a technology program (PTEC) powered by Corfo, In Chile, we must multiply, in several numbers, the lands sown with the appropriate plant species for different edaphoclimatic zones between the regions of Araucania and Magellan.”.

In short, Expo Innaqua was able to gather in one place the innovations of almost 30 enterprises and institutions linked to the aquaculture sectorwhich, if added to the high level of the presentations and participants of the Innaqua Conference, more than achieved the objective of their organizers to consolidate themselves as the most important innovation meeting in aquaculture in the southern hemisphere.

The next edition is scheduled for 2025, in what will again be an epicenter of aquaculture innovation from Chile to the world.

*Image credits: Pedro Barra Léniz | Partnerfish | Directorio Acuícola | PTEC-INVA.