Norway Underwater Drone - Formed from Aquaculture

Sam Macdonald | August 15th, 2017

From the first sale into Norwegian aquaculture, Deep Trekker is the go-to Norway underwater drone and continues to build and refine tools for the industry.

The Norwegian seas were where our underwater ROV first hit the water to inspect caged aquaculture farms. This very first unit, we still hold so dearly for bringing us into the aquaculture industry and to the country of Norway. Six amazing years since this momentous day, aquaculture is still our biggest industry, and Deep Trekker is proudly the de facto standard in underwater aquaculture inspections.

salmon aquaculture site rov norway underwater drone

Although we were from Canada and we were used to our icy waters, we knew that Norway would not be the same as our great lakes. Working in salt waters, with varying currents mean that our inspection tools had to be up to the task. I am fortunate to have my business partners come from the forestry industry. It was there that they learned how to engineer machinery that would stand up in almost any tough terrain or circumstance.

At aquaculture sites, equipment is put to the test every day with winds, rain, current and submerged obstacles. Plastic housings are no match for this extreme environment. That is why our windows are acrylic, surrounded by a tough body made from die-cast aluminum which is anodized and powder coated.

We are so passionate about making equipment that is durable for these environments and are happy to say our first units sold to Norwegian aquaculture are still working in the field today.

Norway Underwater Drone Applications

The submerged infrastructure of a caged fish farm is complex. It is the primary task of a Deep Trekker ROV to inspect these systems and monitor for damage to nets and predator netting systems. When a tear is found, a patch can immediately be applied by the Deep Trekker ROV until a commercial dive team is able to come in for repair. underwater-drone-aquaculture-fish-farm

In Norway, lumpfish or sometimes known as cleaner-fish is a natural way to combat sea lice from a caged salmon farm. Using the Deep Trekker ROV, sea lice is constantly being counted along with the habits of the lumpfish. Since this is a new tactic, the lumpfish need to be constantly researched to perfect their effectiveness. Monitoring the lumpfish shelters within a cage and determining signs of additional feeding required are all tasks made easy with a portable Deep Trekker ROV system. Deep Trekker ROVs are ideal to move quickly from cage to cage, with no additional setup or worry of a loud generator.

New Developments for Norway Underwater Drone Aquaculture Inspection

Deep Trekker was born out working closely with our Norwegian aquaculture clients to build and refine our systems to be exactly what they need. It is through our in-country service centers, local resellers and strong communications that we have the proven platform, the DTG2 ROV – along with its big brother the DTX2 ROV have changed the way that aquaculture underwater inspection is done.

This week, our team is at AquaNor, in Trondheim Norway for the largest aquaculture event in the world. It is not something you want to miss, please come see us at stand E-439 and we’ll show you how to pilot our ROV yourself. Along with our brand new product for the Aquaculture industry – the DTPod!

The DTPod was recently developed as a permeant installation feature for farms to monitor eating habits and more. These industrial tough drop cameras are the perfect companion to the ROV systems and again were from a request of a trout farmer.