Glasses aid farmers fish welfare vision

Greig Seafood has decided to start regularly using high tech “Smart Glasses” as a way to improve fish health and welfare, following a successful trial.

Emily Underhill sporting a pair of MSD's Smart Glasses

The salmon farmer decided to trial the Smart Glasses, which were provided by MSD Animal Health, during a recent vaccination programme, due to restrictions to site visits, and have proclaimed them a success.

“Smart Glasses are a hands-free, wearable device, which are controlled via voice command. Once the glasses are set-up, the user, whether that be a farmer, manager or vet, wears the device during vaccination events,” said Claudia Marin, aquaculture field technical at MSD Animal Health UK, in a press release.

“Fish health and welfare is a key priority for Grieg Seafood. The use of Smart Glasses has enabled our team to maintain their high standards throughout these challenging times,” explained Emily Underhill, senior technician and fish health coordinator at Grieg Seafood, in a press release.

“The camera sees exactly what you’re seeing, so the auditor can view the fish in great detail and thoroughly assess accuracy. For us, one of the key benefits of the device is that it allows us to access immediate support from the MSD Animal Health technical team, without waiting for someone to reach the site.”

Marin explained that during the past year it has been challenging to visit customers, so MSD wanted to develop a method which would allow them to maintain excellent fish health and welfare, without having to visit the site.

“Initially, we carried out numerous trials with Smart Glasses before approaching Grieg Seafood. We then gave Emily and her team a great deal of support to make sure they fully understood the technology before the actual vaccination event, and once they got going, they’ve found the device extremely easy to use,” she added.