AquaMicrobiomeDB

Published on 11 November 2025 at 18:03

Smarter Fish Farming with Real-Time Monitoring. As the global population grows, the world needs more sustainable ways to produce food. Aquaculture – or fish farming – is one of the fastest-growing food industries, and new technologies are helping it become cleaner, smarter, and more efficient.

One of the most promising innovations is Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) – closed, land-based systems that recycle water and reduce environmental impact. But even in these modern systems, disease outbreaks can still be a
major problem. They can wipe out entire stocks, halt production, and cause large financial losses.

Today, one of the biggest challenges is that fish farmers often lack real-time data on important water quality
indicators or early signs of disease. This project aims to change that.

We are developing a new monitoring platform that will give fish farmers access to live data on the waterʼs chemical and biological conditions. The system combines cutting-edge sensor technology with next-generation DNA sequencing (NGS) to detect harmful microbes and substances like hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), geosmin, and 2-MIB – all of which can impact fish health and quality.

The project brings together a strong team of European experts:

Morefish (Norway) contributes expertise in sustainable aquaculture and nutrient recycling.
BGI (Portugal), the project leader, helps scale technology and bring it to market.
Food4Sustainbility (Portugal) brings insights into circular economy and sustainable food.
Fraunhofer IKTS (Germany) is developing custom plasmonic sensors for detecting microorganisms.
ECH Elektrochemie Halle (Germany) is creating the H₂S sensors and helping scale up the technology.

By combining advanced science with practical tools, this project will give fish farmers better control, earlier
warnings, and more sustainable production – helping secure safe, healthy seafood for the future.

Project owner