Adroit’s data buoy has received technical approval from the Ministry of Primary Industries

Accurate and reliable sensor technology

Adroit’s first live data buoy, affectionately named ‘Murray’ was installed in March this year at the Westpac Mussels Farm in the Firth of Thames. This trial installation was primarily to field test the accuracy and reliability of the sensor technology, but also to measure the performance of the low maintenance design of the data buoy solution in the sediment-rich Thames.

That installation was a huge success and since then Adroit has been installing sensors in a variety of waterways throughout the country to measure water parameters including Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity, PH, ORP, Conductivity, Salinity, Chlorophyll A and more.

Adroit Commercial Director Blair Stewart says the gaining MPI certification is a key step for the business.

Water salinity is a key measure for Aquaculture

“Murray has also proven incredibly reliable, the combination of Libelium IoT equipment with the Nexens data buoy and In-Situ sonde proving to be ideal for New Zealand conditions,” he said.

Aquaculture is a significant industry in New Zealand, with hundreds of mussel and oyster farms in operation throughout the country. Farm operators are required to constantly test water and shellfish quality, and measure against set criteria to ensure safe harvesting.

MPI compliance requirements for harvesting set a minimum salinity level. And when it’s reached, farmers need to immediately stop harvesting.

“Water salinity is a key measure for Aquaculture. Rain can affect salinity and when salinity drops off, bacteria can increase, which in turn affects the mussels.

“Adroit’s solution allows constant monitoring of salinity and other risks to avoid farms being unnecessarily closed.