Our own automatic feeder: a new milestone in Marine Instruments’ aquaculture project

Aquaculture is part of the diversification strategy that Marine Instruments has been pursuing in recent years. The launch and commercialization of Marine Acoustic System (MAS) in 2019 marked a milestone in the company’s history, bringing to the market a pioneering system for feeding fish with acoustic technology that is already a reality in many vannamei shrimp farms in Ecuador, where the company has its own office.

Until now, our MAS aquaculture product included the central unit with a sensor module that automatically doses the amount and frequency of feeding according to the needs detected by the system through its sensors. This technology could be adapted to most of the feeders/buckets on the market, making it possible to convert the traditional feeder into a smart feeder quickly and easily.

But we were not satisfied, we wanted to go one step further and commercialize our own automatic feeder. This would allow us to have control of all the elements that complete the system (central unit, sensors, software and feeder), that is, to have the ability to deliver a turnkey system to the customer, with all the advantages that this means: being the only interlocutor, thus controlling the entire process and improving the customer experience. Thus was born the MF1, the new automatic feeder for shrimp aquaculture from Marine Instruments. Tested by our specialists, perfectly coupled to the MAS system and ready to offer the best to our customers.

The new automatic feeder MF1 has a solar panel, a communication module, a capacity of up to 200 kilos of feed and reaches a feeding radius of up to 16 meters, delivering 40 grams every second. Its materials include stainless steel and polycarbonate, materials suitable for the complexity of the pool ecosystem.

To date, thanks to the MAS system, we have managed to improve the profitability of the pools by up to 40% and recover the investment in less than two cycles, figures that make us proud of what we have achieved, but we are not satisfied, we continue working to improve and this includes the launch of the MF1.

MAS, an intuitive, wireless and now financeable intelligent power supply system
The intuitive and wireless operation of the MAS does not require any installation, making its implementation in all types of farms very agile and facilitating its transfer from pool to pool. Its software, also developed by Marine Instruments, allows to identify feeding patterns and thus achieve faster fattening and improved feed conversion factor (FCR).

The inclusion of this system in the pools makes it possible to take full advantage of the shrimp’s growth rate and shorten its production cycle. In this way, the profitability of the ponds is considerably improved and the investment is recovered in less than two cycles. MAS is a system designed and manufactured entirely in Spain at Marine Instruments’ facilities.

In addition, with the launch of the MF1 Marine Instruments offers its customers new payment possibilities including financing facilities. Marine Instruments will be present with its own stand at Aqua Expo Guayaquil 2021, the largest fair of the sector in the continent, where it will present the new MF1.