Ace Aquatec shortlisted for three business awards
Scottish aquaculture technology supplier Ace Aquatec and its managing director Nathan Pyne-Carter have been shortlisted in three categories in the annual business awards run by Dundee’s Courier newspaper.
The company is one of four finalists in the Design & Innovation category, which it won last year, and one of three in the Science & Technology category, in which it was a runner-up last year.
Like last year, Pyne-Carter is among the four finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Continuing innovation
In 2018, the Dundee-based company won the Design & Innovation category for the innovation that it brought to the Scottish aquaculture industry.
This year, it is shortlisted for continuing innovation, which is aimed at animal welfare in aquaculture. The company’s projects include the “electric fish”, a non-acoustic deterrent that is designed to look like a dead salmon and serves as a predator solution for areas that have regulations in place against acoustic deterrents.
Another innovation project within Ace Aquatec’s product portfolio is the BioCam 3D, an under-water time-of-flight camera that captures fish biomass in real-time. This product will be available on the market later this year.
Proud to be in Dundee
Mike Forbes, head of sales and marketing, said: “It really is an honour to be shortlisted in three categories. We work with customers as far afield as New Zealand, Chile and the USA, but as a company, we are proud to be based in Dundee. It’s great to be considered alongside the many other businesses that we see thriving in the city right now.”
The Courier Business Awards will take place on October 26 at the Apex Hotel in Dundee.
Meanwhile, Ace Aquatec is returning to the scene of arguably its greatest accolade, the Innovation Award it won at Aqua Nor in Trondheim in 2017.
Humane stunning
Ace Aquatec became the first Scottish company to win the award, for its Humane Stunner Universal (HSU), an in-water stunner which renders fish unconscious before they are removed from the water for slaughter.
This not only makes the process more humane but is said to improve the quality of the meat by reducing the amount of stress hormone produced by the fish.
The HSU has arrived in Trondheim for the 2019 edition of Aqua Nor and will be on display alongside the electric fish and the BioCam 3D on stand D-329, which the company is sharing with its Norwegian distributor, Sterner.
The company hadn’t planned to take the BioCam as its models were all in the water for testing, but it was able to get one back at short notice.
