It was only a matter of time before robots showed up on deck. Although the Shinkei Systems machine is a far cry from a Star Wars-level droid, it can scan, kill, bleed, and ice fish. “It’s about the size of a refrigerator,” says the Shinkei System’s Lead Mechanical Engineer, Dr. Waiman Meinhold. “It’ll scan a fish, spike the brain, cut the gills, and then put it into slush ice, all in 6.5 seconds or less.”
According to company CEO Saif Khawaja, the Shinkei Systems machine improves quality to a level that enables him to garner a premium. “We split it variably with the fishermen we work with,” says Khawaja. “We own the machines and put them on the boats for free. Then we handle and market the fish under our brand, Seremoni Grade.”
So far, Shinkei has machines on two boats on the West Coast and one on the East Coast. “We move a few thousand pounds a week,” says Khawaja, noting that his company is selling black cod from the Pacific, and black sea bass and scup from the Atlantic. “We sell to wholesalers. Sometimes we can shorten the supply chain. We primarily eliminate waste.”
The idea of landing high quality fish isn’t new but has often relied on crew members with varying capacities and measures of quality. The Shinkei machine takes the guesswork out of landing fish of a consistent quality.
“These are Seremoni-grade fish,” says Khawaja. “We work with fishermen using gear types that are operationally ready for a Seremoni-grade process. Everything is geared toward quality maximization.”
At the same time, Khawaja and the Shinkei team are not looking to price themselves into an exclusive market. By adding mechanization to artisanal fisheries, they hope to provide all consumers with amazing quality fish at a moderately higher price. “Our aim is to democratize the market,” says Khawaja. “This is an America First opportunity. All our machines are built right here.”
Shinkei Systems recently received $22 million in a Series A funding round and appears poised to grow. “We can build a machine every two weeks,” says Khawaja. “And we can’t build them fast enough for all our excited partners.” He adds that they are already selling in all the major markets in the country. “And we see a path to handling tens of thousands of pounds over the next year.”
Khawaja intends for Shinkei Systems to become a major buyer and distribution platform for fishermen using the company’s machines. What remains to be seen is if fishermen will bite.
