Scalability of crayfish hatcheries through robotic technology

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The global crayfish industry was worth $19 billion in 2019\. Imported crayfish price to Europe and the UK increased by 83% over 8 years but volumes dwindle due to increased Asian demand. Amongst crayfish species, the redclaw crayfish fetches the highest market wholesale prices but its growth is dwarfed by a lack of economically viable hatchery technology.This project is to advance robotic technologies applied to the aquaculture sector. Specifically, it plans to improve the operational efficiency of a machine-driven robot by designing and manufacturing two new tanks. The project will result in the manufacturing of tank prototypes which will be tested at the company's site. The objective is to unlock scalability of crayfish hatcheries by utilising the robots' capability of performing repeated tasks efficiently while collecting and analysis data, thus improve productivity. The robot coupled with new tank design will also decrease the land space required for a commercial facility, increase survival rates and decrease waste of natural resources including feed, which the biggest source of CO2 emissions in aquaculture.The project will last 6 months and will produce the first robot-driven crayfish breeding and hatchery centre.