SAIC Introduces… Scoot Science

In the latest instalment of the SAIC Introduces’ series, we would like you to meet Scoot Science: a business that was founded on the desire to quantify ocean change, understand ocean volatility’s effect on marine-based businesses, and catalyse investment in the blue economy.

Driven by a desire to unlock the power of ocean data, Scoot oceanographers, data scientists, and agricultural economists look to collaborate with those on the frontlines of climate change to improve humanity's relationship with the changing ocean.

Why are marine-based salmon aquaculture companies turning to Scoot Science? 

Scoot's flagship software product, SeaState, is uniquely built to leverage ocean data in a completely new way. SeaState, its innovative hardware agnostic platform, not only simplifies and organises existing data streams, it also interprets and forecasts ocean conditions. Furthermore, SeaState uses this internal and external data to produce an integrated welfare index to quantify the cumulative impact of environmental, biological, and operational stressors. This index, called SIWI, tracks fish welfare over a cohort’s time at sea and provides daily assessments of cumulative stress. Through the data integrations within SeaState, ocean observing and forecasting for aquaculture companies is accessible and delivered in a way that allows farmers to identify risk(s), when to act and how to address threats to their fish to make more informed operational decisions and ultimately increase fish survivability.

How does SeaState work? 

SeaState unifies in-pen environmental and operational farm data with publicly available oceanographic and meteorological data in a globally accessible web-based dashboard. By integrating these data streams, SeaState generates and renders robust 3+ day regional ocean and farm site-specific forecasts to give farmers a window into what’s happening below the surface of the water historically, in real time, and in the days to come. 

How is SeaState different from existing software options, and what makes it such a powerful platform? 

SeaState is designed to help farmers increase survivability in a changing ocean. They receive early warnings for a threat on the horizon, can determine how vulnerable their fish are to this threat, and engage mitigation efforts. 

These forecasts are integrated into the farmer’s operational data, such as their inventory, biology, and mitigation systems. That makes it possible to gauge how effective the mitigation efforts are after the event passes. 

Fish farming groups have done an excellent job monitoring the oceans and yet still consider many ocean risks—like low oxygen waters, large temperature swings, and plankton blooms—unpredictable. With Scoot Science, farmers have the tools to constrain those risks.

Do Scoot’s tools replace what farms currently use?

No, SeaState’s flexible framework builds upon existing and future tools while capturing the tacit knowledge of experienced farmers. Scoot collaborates with farmers and local oceanographic experts to learn what is already known about a particular farm management area. The digital instruments that farms use provide one level of understanding about present ocean conditions. Scoot then integrates public environmental and meteorological data to offer a more holistic picture of the surrounding ocean for more informed management and increased survivability. 

For more information about Scoot Science, please visit www.ScootScience.com, or contact info@scootscience.com.

If you’re a SAIC Consortium member and you would like your business or organisation to be featured in the ‘SAIC Introduces’ series, get in touch with Benedikte to get the ball rolling.

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