Marble Imaging signs ESA Blue Capital contract for aquaculture feasibility study

• Marble Imaging and ESA Space Solutions kick-off a six month ESA Kick-start project to develop Earth Observation (EO) solutions for the Blue Economy

• “AquaMap” focuses on testing the feasibility of developing an EO based “Aquaculture suitability Index” to find optimal habitats for aquaculture farms

• The project is funded up to €60.000

Marble’s “AquaMap”-project will employ advanced EO products and technologies to analyse environmental parameters and assess the suitability of coastal habitats for aquaculture farming and operations. The feasibility study integrating available EO datasets for aquaculture site suitability analysis is built around increasing food security and providing actionable insights to stakeholders, promoting sustainable practices, and enhancing operational efficiency.

The feasibility study will show that EO data will be invaluable in selecting aquaculture environments, aiding aquaculture standard certification and offering significant advantages in data accuracy and timeliness over traditional methods.

Mussel aquaculture farms detected in Ria de Arousa, Galicia, Spain, on Sentinel-2 imagery

”Fish products from the ocean are threatened and the need of the hour is sustainable aquaculture farming. For this, aquaculture operators require accurate information on habitat suitability and potential risk factors to ensure sustainable and profitable operations”, says Project Manager Dr. Gopika Suresh, Co-Founder of Marble and CSO. ” Traditional methods for these tasks are often time-consuming, costly, and lack the necessary precision to address emerging issues effectively.

Marble’s goal is to become a leading provider in EO based solutions for the Blue Economy to improve certification processes, monitor water quality and river runoffs, detect land cover changes and deforestation, improve industrial workflows, deliver early warning alerts in case of hazards and diseases and provide information for rapid decision making to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change.