July 2026 Newsletter

Glasaal Joins the European Digital Innovation Hub (EDIH) Northwest

In recent weeks, the annual general meetings of shareholders were held for Glasaal Volendam Holding BV (June 22) and Glasaal Volendam R&D BV (June 29). At the June 29 meeting, Chairman of the Board Nico van Straalen announced that Glasaal Volendam has taken a number of steps to support the company’s operations with artificial intelligence (AI) and to accelerate them where possible.
AI tools are provided in four areas:
1. The development of an automated system for feeding and cleaning the experimental aquaculture tanks. We are collaborating with a company that specializes in robotic arms for this project. Over time, we also plan to fully automate water quality measurements and display the results on a dashboard.
2. Analyzing our own data on the survival and growth of eel larvae, which we have now collected through a large number of experiments. The AI protocol will focus on combinations of rearing conditions, the origin of the brood eels, and measured water quality parameters that we may not yet fully understand. In particular, we aim to investigate interactions where the outcome depends on multiple factors simultaneously. This will enable us to make decisions more quickly regarding improvements to the rearing protocol.
3. Conducting a thorough literature review of all scientific publications on eel larvae rearing and possibly other fish species. We already have a lot of information, but an AI search might be able to add to it and organize it more clearly.
4. Developing a testing system to screen the quality of female eels. Time and again, it has been shown that the extent to which maternal eels produce growing larvae after maturation varies greatly among individual eels. The question is whether we can obtain an indication of quality in advance through behavioral observations or genetic screening.
To ensure these developments proceed smoothly, we have put together an “AI team,” which includes an external professional AI consultant from Volendam. In addition, we have joined the “European Digital Innovation Hub” (EDIH), a European Union project aimed at supporting companies in the fields of AI, automation, and robotics. Through EDIH, we can receive free advice. We will further support the project by applying for a grant from RegioDeal, a program designed to stimulate regional cooperation and innovation.

Through all these activities, we hope to accelerate our research in 2026–2027.