Seascape Aquatech invests in robotics for innovative oyster farming

Seascape Aquatech is banking on robotics to revolutionize oyster farming, aiming to modernize every aspect of the process in order to increase yields and reduce labor costs. CEO John Nicholas, who also owns an oyster farm in East Hampton, New York, notes that while many salmon and shrimp farms have incorporated automated systems including feeders, cleaners, monitoring, sensors, and harvesting machines, most oyster farms still heavily rely on manual labor.

The company plans to utilize a series of high-tech innovations, including autonomous robotic boats developed by CTO Mitchell London, to automate each stage of oyster farming completely, from nursery to harvest. These innovations include a dockside floating upweller system for seed growth, baywater grow-out and harvesting, float cage maintenance using robotic boats, as well as dockside maturation, finishing, and shellfish processing.

In order to fund the implementation of this technology, Nicholas and London are seeking to raise $2.5 million to pilot the tech in East Hampton before rolling it out to other oyster farms that they plan to acquire. They believe that the higher yields and reduced labor costs from this automation will result in a profitable return on investment. Nicholas, who has a background in finance and real estate, explains that the goal is to use technology both as a profit-driver and a leverage for mergers and acquisitions.

Seascape’s strategy involves acquiring and scaling up operations at targeted farms, implementing and optimizing automation technology at their East Hampton farm, and eventually deploying this technology across their entire portfolio of farms. With a target of acquiring six to eight of the 3,000 oyster farms in America, Seascape seeks to revolutionize oyster farming and incentivize investment in their roll-up strategy.

The challenges in oyster farming, according to Nicholas, revolve around maintaining water flow to the oysters, cleaning the oysters and bags, tumbling for optimal growth, and sorting for consistency. Seascape is redesigning key components including beds, floats, boats, tumblers, sorting, and washing systems to create an automated process that can be utilized by the majority of oyster farms.

Nicholas mentions that the initial system will be suitable for open water operations in bays, where maximizing water column utilization is crucial for enhanced yields. While specific details about Seascape’s innovations are not yet disclosed due to pending patent applications, Nicholas emphasizes their focus on developing autonomous machines that can operate around the clock, such as flipping oyster bags, tumbling, and sorting machines.

Seascape is currently testing its technology on land and exploring materials for open-water setup, accounting for the corrosive effects of saltwater. The company aims to raise funds to further develop and manufacture the machinery for their oyster farms, in addition to acquiring more oyster farms through a roll-up fund. Despite the obvious benefits of automating oyster farming, Nicholas acknowledges the need for educating investors on the potential of merging oysters and robotics to transform the industry.