Ammonia next on the agenda for RAS water analysis firm

The Irish technology company Aquamonitrix has developed analysis equipment that measures nitrogen compounds in water in real time in recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facilities.

“Aquamonitrix specialises in solutions for monitoring water quality in land-based aquaculture. Our technology makes it possible to continuously measure nutrients such as nitrate and nitrite, which can help optimise water conditions and maintain fish health,” John McGrath tells LandbasedAQ when we met him at the North Atlantic Seafood Forum (NASF) in Bergen, Norway, recently.

The technology is designed for both freshwater and fully saline environments, and is designed to operate in land-based aquaculture facilities with low maintenance requirements. The measurement systems can be integrated into the facilities' management systems and provide operators with continuous data on water quality.

Starting a new development project

The company has recently received funding for a development project in which the analysis equipment will be further developed.

"We have received support for an 18-month field trial starting in the second quarter of 2026, where we, together with two major fish farmers, will further develop the analyser so that it can also measure ammoniacal compounds," says McGrath.

Further details about the collaboration will be announced in the coming weeks, he says.

Norway and Scotland

The sales manager states that the company already supplies technology to several players in land-based aquaculture and research. Customers include companies and environments such as Pure Salmon, Cooke Aquaculture, Kingfish, Mowi, Havland, Nofima, Stolt Sea Farm and Goatsbridge Trout Farm.

The projects are distributed across several countries, including Norway, Denmark, Spain, Ireland, Scotland, the Netherlands, and Canada.

Norway and Scotland are currently the most important markets for the company, but interest also comes from several other farming regions.

“This year we have had inquiries from Japan, China, Chile, Spain and France, among others. At the same time, we also believe that Iceland and the Faroe Islands are markets where there may be a great need for our technology,” says McGrath.

Aquamonitrix currently has 10 employees in its core team. The company is part of the technology company TelLab, which provides administrative and technical support to the business.

'Risk is a key challenge'

According to McGrath, risk management is one of the biggest challenges for land-based salmon farming, something that was discussed a lot at the NASF.

"Many of the challenges are about risk, including water quality, biological incidents and insurance. Lack of insight into operational parameters can lead to problems."

He also believes that more frequent measurements can give farmers new insight into how RAS facilities work in practice, as well as providing better measurements of water quality that can contribute to more control in operations, saving time and reducing costs for farmers.

“The water quality data we provide gives operators far more frequent measurements than what has previously been available in RAS facilities. It provides a completely different data basis for understanding what is actually happening in the systems,” says McGrath.