Aquaculture involves the cultivation of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, molluscs and aquatic plants. It represents an alternative solution to over-fishing and the disappearance of certain aquatic organisms that are sought-after due to the growing need for seafood.

In 2018, global production from aquaculture (source: FAO) reached 82.1 million tonnes of aquatic animals, 32.4 million tonnes of aquatic algae and 26,000 tonnes of pearls and ornamental shellfish, bringing the total to an all-time high of 114.5 million tonnes.

Despite worldwide progress in the field of marine aquaculture, this sector still has plenty of room for improvement (in terms of economic growth), but sometimes suffers from a poor image linked to the negative environmental impacts of aquaculture under the old production methods.

This increase calls for production control of classic and emerging marine species at all stages of rearing, and in particular the critical initial phase: the larval stage. To meet demand for fish fry, crustacean post-larvae or shellfish spat, hatcheries need to optimize their production performance during this phase.