Japanese telecommunications group, NTT Communications Corporation, has established a subsidiary, NTT Aqua Co., Ltd., to research, develop, and provide a recirculating land-based aquaculture system. According to the company, the system utilizes information and communications technology (ICT) and has the potential to efficiently farm large amounts of fish even for those with no aquaculture experience.
The system was developed through a joint research conducted since 2023 in Ogimi Village, Okinawa Prefecture with Benihito Co., Ltd., a company engaged in land-based aquaculture research and development and seedling production. This system combines Benihito's advanced filtration technology with NTT Com's land-based aquaculture ICT platform.
Unlike existing recirculating land-based aquaculture facilities in Japan, this system does not use bacteria, which offers several advantages. “Since it does not require a biological filtration tank, which generally takes up 60 to 80% of the space, it is extremely space-efficient and enables land-based aquaculture to be carried out on smaller plots of land than before,” the company said. “Since it does not use a biological filtration tank, maintenance is easier and work efficiency is improved and stable filtration can be achieved in line with the growth of the fish, making it possible to farm a higher density of fish per tank.”
Furthermore, the ICT platform allows users to easily check information obtained by sensors, such as water temperature, oxygen, salinity, and pH. The information on the platform is centrally managed by NTT Aqua, and in the event of an abnormality, the company will provide support to aquaculture operators in real-time from remote locations.
Since the appropriate water temperature and quality vary depending on the fish species, NTT Aqua will provide aquaculture operators with a platform that has been pre-tuned (by setting thresholds for water temperature, water quality, etc.) according to the species of fish being farmed.
NTT Com established NTT Aqua to provide this system throughout Japan except Okinawa Prefecture. The system will first be available for cultivating two types of grouper, and will gradually expand the range of target fish species.
In the future, the company plans to offer a service that provides total support to land-based aquaculture businesses, including the provision of grouper seedlings and feed for each fish species. Furthermore, the company plans to develop, through joint research with NTT laboratories, a system for detecting abnormalities in fish.
