Scottish salmon farming adopts AI cameras and automation
Mowi is using AI cameras, automated feeding and robotics at its Scottish salmon farms and processing plant to improve monitoring, welfare and efficiency.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
A Scottish salmon producer is turning to AI cameras, automated feeding and robots to monitor fish and speed up production. Aquaculture accounts for 50% of the seafood people eat, and at a marine technology exhibition, companies showed autonomous fish enclosures and technology to turn waste into energy. The sector says new tech can improve environmental and welfare practices.
At Mowi, one of Scotland's biggest salmon producers, the operation in Fort William looks more like mission control than a traditional fish farm. Operators watch multiple screens showing different pens and stages of fish. One operator can feed several farms a day. Staff use a PlayStation controller to operate feeding systems because it is more comfortable than leaning over a desk.
Cameras sit on the seabed in salmon pens across the Scottish Highlands. The AI works in the background. It monitors fish activity and the pellets it sees in the water. If it detects a certain amount of pellets passing through, it alerts the operator and suggests slowing down. It can also record a short video of what the operator missed. The system is not always accurate, so staff review the footage and decide what to do next.
Mowi also uses the Interarbor, described as Scotland's biggest well boat, to transport salmon from water to land. On board, seawater is converted to freshwater. The company says this allows it to pick up a full pen of fish and treat them in freshwater, which it calls environmentally friendly. The treatment covers gill amoeba and other conditions, and Mowi says the vessel has been a game changer.
At the processing plant, automation has reduced manual labour. AI cameras grade the fish. Robots lift around 95% of boxes. Fish are automatically weighed, labelled, iced and scanned into a robotics system for distribution. Some fish processed there are expected to be in France the next morning.
The company says demand for salmon continues to grow and Scotland wants to keep up. It also faces scrutiny over fish welfare on farms. Mowi says its cameras and feeding systems give it more eyes on the fish than ever before, allowing constant health monitoring. The company argues automation has made operations faster and improved monitoring. The wider question is whether more automation can lead to better welfare for farmed salmon.
On screen
Stills are sampled automatically at 60-second intervals. Where shown, the still is the nearest available frame from the relevant broadcast segment and is included to show what was on screen during that part of the broadcast. A still may not correspond to the exact second of a quoted phrase.
Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News |
|---|---|
| AI systems are used to monitor fish activity and feed pellets, alerting operators if too much feed passes through. | |
| Mowi uses a well boat that converts seawater into freshwater to treat its fish. | |
| Robots at Mowi's processing plant lift around 95% of boxes. |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
BBC News took an on-the-ground approach, visiting Mowi's Fort William control room, a well boat and a processing plant to show how AI cameras and automation are used. The tone is largely technology-led and positive, with Mowi staff explaining efficiency and welfare benefits, though the presenter briefly asks whether more automation can mean better welfare. It notes industry scrutiny over fish welfare but includes no independent critics or external scientists, and the transcript ends with an unrelated Formula Student AI tease.
- “This is the kind of camera now sitting on the seabed in salmon pens across the Scottish Highlands.”
- “With the cameras and the feeding systems that we have now, we have eyes on the fish a lot more than we've ever done.”
- “But for this industry, can more automation mean better welfare?”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.