Innovasea has successfully used its fully submersible SeaProtean aquaculture systems to grow and harvest greater amberjack in the Red Sea as part of Topian’s aquaculture initiative, the sustainable food component of Saudi Arabia’s NEOM project. Fully submersible net pens have enabled greater amberjack to survive extreme summer heat with no mortalities, opening previously unfeasible regions for aquaculture in the Red Sea.
The SeaProtean pens were installed and stocked in 2025, marking the first deployment of this pen system in the region. Despite intense summer heat, the system’s buoyancy control and fully submersible design allowed operators to move fish further down the water column and below the thermocline, resulting in no heat-related mortalities.
“The SeaProtean Pen is engineered to support fish in extreme environments, such as the high surface temperatures of the Red Sea,” said Marc Turano, General Manager of Aquaculture Systems at Innovasea. “By using fully submersible pens, our clients can now expand aquaculture into regions previously deemed unfeasible.”
The pens were equipped with environmental sensors to monitor changing water conditions, AI-powered biomass cameras to track growth projections, and high-definition cameras for full underwater visibility. The FlowFeeder waterborne feeding system allows operators to automatically deliver feed below the surface, reducing feed waste, energy costs, and lost feed days due to inclement weather.
All operational data is tracked in Innovasea’s Realfish Pro precision aquaculture platform, a cloud-based solution combining real-time data with analytics to support data-driven operations.
“We are excited to collaborate with Topian to bring the latest aquaculture technology to the region,” said Innovasea CEO Mark Jollymore. “It’s an excellent opportunity to showcase the benefits of precision aquaculture and lay the groundwork for what could become a significant growth area.”
Food security is a key element of the NEOM project, with Topian’s aquaculture initiative focused on providing sustainable, high-quality nutrition while reducing reliance on imports.
“The adoption of this breakthrough technology demonstrates our commitment to leveraging the latest advancements to improve nutrition and ensure sustainability,” said Majid Mufti, CEO of the NEOM Investment Fund.
