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The Urgency to Evolve
Thailand’s aquaculture farming industry, once number 1 global shrimp production, is now facing rising costs, falling prices, and changing consumer demands—These shifts have rendered the approaches we’ve relied on for the past 30 years ineffective in maintaining our competitive edge What used to work in the past no longer guarantees success in today’s rapidly changing world. Why is this happening?
First and foremost, climate change is significantly impacting the aquaculture landscape. Unpredictable weather patterns are creating unstable environments for farming, and the increased risks of disease outbreaks is putting the entire industry at risk. We have seen this with unusual cold weather followed by a heat wave in the first quarter of this year already, making farming more difficult and causing diseases.
At the same time, Customers are now demanding higher standards across the board, including a stronger focus on animal welfare, the elimination of antibiotics, and full traceability of farm-to-table practices. As the global market increasingly embraces sustainability, these demands are no longer just preferences—they’re requirements. British retailers stopped sourcing shrimps where eye ablation is performed in hatcheries and require electric stunning, US and European customs frequently destroy shrimp shipments with antibiotics residue found in spot checks.
But the challenges don’t stop there. Nowadays, global competition is heating up, and we need to ask ourselves: Are we ready to capture market share globally? For example, when comparing production growth from 2020 to 2024 among our Southeast Asian neighbors, Vietnam’s shrimp production grew by an impressive 90.8%, and Indonesia’s surged by 82.3%. In contrast, Thailand’s growth was a modest 12.5%.
At this point, it’s clear to see where we stand and why it’s crucial that we change the way we farm. The global landscape has changed, and so must we. To stay competitive, Thailand must adapt to the new global standard. We need to produce more, at lower costs, with better quality, and meet higher standards. This isn’t just a wish-list— It’s the new global standard.
And Precision Aquaculture is the key to making it happen. The time to evolve is now.
What is Precision Aquaculture?
the right thing, at the right time, based on the right data.
Precision Aquaculture is the integration of smart technology, data analytics, AI, and automated systems into aquaculture practices. The goal is to optimize farming by doing everything precisely—monitoring, feeding, and managing farm operations based on real-time data rather than relying on guesswork. This shift from traditional methods to smart farming doesn’t just optimize operations—it fundamentally changes the way we think about farming.
With Precision Aquaculture, farmers can:
- Make informed decisions backed by accurate: using AI to analyze patterns and predict future conditions, ensuring the farm remains optimized at all times.
- Ensure optimal 24/7 pond condition: checking water quality 24/7, detecting issues such as oxygen depletion or water imbalances before they escalate.
- Automate aeration systems: ensuring aerators are running only when needed, based on actual pond conditions, and adjusting for changes in the environment.
This shift from traditional methods to smart farming doesn’t just optimize operations—it fundamentally changes the way we think about farming, using AI to drive smarter, more sustainable practices.
Precision Aquaculture: Why It Matters
Traditional vs. Real-Time Monitoring
In traditional aquaculture practices, water quality checks are often performed manually—typically twice a day. This approach can lead to inaccurate assumptions about pond conditions, as farmers rely on intermittent data. There are also no alerts for critical situations, which means problems can go unnoticed until it’s too late.
From this graph, we can see that traditional farming methods involve checking DO levels only twice a day. These two readings are plotted as two dots on the graph. Many farmers we’ve spoken with tend to assume that the DO level fluctuates slightly between 4–5 ppm from day to day (as represented by the black dotted line).
However, in reality, 24/7 monitoring shows a different pattern — the blue line illustrates that the DO level can rise to as high as 8 ppm and drop to as low as 3 ppm within a single day.
In fact, during the first quarter of 2025 alone, HydroNeo systems detected 4,734 cases of critically low Dissolved Oxygen concentrations and alerted their farmers. What’s important to highlight is that these alerts occurred on farms managed by some of the most advanced and experienced farmers in the industry—our smart farmers who actively use HydroNeo and other farm innovations.
This clearly demonstrates that even the most knowledgeable farmers could not have been aware of these critical situations without access to real-time data. With HydroNeo, they are now empowered by continuous insights, enabling them to respond faster, reduce risks, and optimize pond conditions with greater precision than ever before.
Reduce energy consumption with HydroNeo Realtime technology
With Real-time data-driven decisions, farmers can significantly reduce energy usage, as the system constantly can be continuously adjusted based on the actual needs of the pond.
In traditional methods, farmers typically turn aerators on and off based on fixed schedules and experiences (Yellow line). It’s also crucial to note that no two ponds are alike. Each pond has unique variables—such as animal biomass, algae levels, feeding practices, and external factors like weather changes, all of which can impact pond conditions.
With Precision Aquaculture, AI-powered systems continuously monitor real-time data (Blue line) and adjust aeration accordingly (Green dotted line), ensuring aerators run only when necessary. This reduces energy consumption, making continuous monitoring essential. Every pond requires 24/7 attention to maintain optimal conditions for shrimp to thrive.
When we put in effort, we always expect a reward, right? And yes, the impact is clear. With real-time monitoring, energy costs can be reduced by up to 30%, which calculates to around 12,000 THB per cycle in savings. This is just one of the many benefits of adopting Precision Aquaculture.
I’m doing a high-density shrimp farm, so I have to use HydroNeo’s smarter system to help monitor water quality 24 hours to manage the aeration and feed efficiency. This innovation helps me reduce the risk and reduce energy costs as well – Kitthiphat Srisomwong, Thailand Shrimp Farming Expert.
Why Precision Is More Than Energy Savings, it is just an iceberg !
People often think smart farm systems are just “fancy tools” or high-tech gadgets. Sometimes, smart farming gets oversimplified into being just a smart aerator system.
Yes—it’s true that smart systems like HydroNeo pay for themselves through energy savings alone.
But if that’s all you see, you’re only looking at the tip of the iceberg.
HydroNeo Smart Farm Management provides you with accurate data and empowers you to make informed decisions through a platform designed for better farm operations, improved risk management, stronger financial performance, and long-term sustainability.
In short, it’s about transforming your entire operation—not just trimming your electricity bill.
