Don't miss the opportunity to participate in the largest aquaculture event in the Southern Hemisphere!
Don't miss the opportunity to participate in the largest aquaculture event in the Southern Hemisphere!
BactiQuant is a Danish rapid microbiological monitoring technology platform designed to quantify total viable bacteria and total fungal biomass in water and on surfaces in minutes. Its CEO, Morten Miller, is one of the speakers at the Aquasur International Congress.
Through a partnership with the Chilean laboratory AOLab, the company BactiQuant decided to bring the total viable bacteria and fungi quantifier in water to our country. This tool allows real-time monitoring of the biological parameters associated with water quality in aquaculture production systems.
The portable technology, which is validated by the EPA (United States Environmental Protection Agency), allows water samples to be filtered and, using high-sensitivity fluorescence, quantifies bacteria and fungi present in the water.
In conversation with Salmonexpert, BactiQuant CEO Morten Miller explains that they had been aiming to enter the Chilean market for quite some time, as it is one of the world’s largest salmon producers. Combined with its international experience in RAS, BactiQuant has the potential to be of great help to the Chilean industry.
“We have extensive experience with data from fish farms and can help Chilean producers generate their own database. Our technology is relevant for RAS centers and fish farms, contributing to better system performance, greater growth, and reduced mortality, since there is currently no tool that allows these biological parameters of the water to be determined directly,” the CEO points out.
As one of the critical factors in reducing microbial risk in RAS systems is providing stable control, Miller points out that microbial water quality is essential not only for the performance of eggs and juveniles, which are the most vulnerable stages of fish development, but also for identifying problems in the later stages of the water cycle in a RAS system, such as the impact and optimization of disinfection.
While microbial biomass itself is an important process parameter for water quality, the ability to take measurements in short time frames allows for early detection of deviations in water quality and, in turn, rapid adjustment of production processes and operational routines to maintain a stable environment.
In this context, according to the executive, the technology would also allow users to optimize water treatment processes by monitoring microbial activity at Critical Control Points (CCPs), both before and after the entire water treatment chain.
The equipment is currently in operation at large RAS fish farms worldwide. It is also being used in Chile at Mowi fish farms and is in talks for early implementation at four more companies. Morten Miller, who studied Microbial Ecology at Oregon State University, has a Master’s degree in Agricultural Sciences and a PhD from the University of Copenhagen, will participate with a keynote speech at the Aquasur 2026 International Congress.
Source: Salmonexpert
