FROM THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE INSHORE  FISH PRODUCTIONS TO THE AUTONOMOUS OFFSHORE FISH FARMING SHIPS  

This presentation will report the results obtained in an Innovation Center for production of 3,500 Tons of Atlantic salmon when integrating the technology of the copper alloy meshes in the inshore fish farming and the possibility these generated in the offshore fish production.  This technology has also opened the real possibility of building offshore fish farming vessels, able to navigate in international seas looking for the best qualities of the water for the fish.

STAGE 1: The first step was to demonstrate that the copper alloy meshes generated real productive improvements in the fish farming. For this after having acquired 5 years of experience in this type of technology, we started to run an Innovation Center operated by ourselves, Integrating several new technologies, among them copper alloy meshes and we hire the international certifier SGS to record the results during the 18 months of production.  

In this Innovation Center, we produced 3,500 tons of Atlantic salmon in the South on Chile and we used 16 cages of 13,500 m3 each with copper alloy meshes. Results were excellent: Fish input 678,594) were smaller size (97grams) than Chilean industry standard (130 grams), despite this, the  fish grew to 5.9 kilos. The Economic Conversion Rate (FCRe) was 1.3 and Biological Conversion Rate (FCRb) was 1.26 . Biological mortality rate of 3.3% and a productivity per Fish of 5.21 (Final biomass v/s Initial biomass) These results were among the best in the Industry over the 2014-2015 winter season (20 million fish).

STAGE 2 : Adaptation of technology for offshore fish farming. For this, we develop a submersible raft by means of a compensation bottle to make the sinking process. We chose an area where no fish had ever been produced in Chile, the shores of the Atacama Desert and a species that had never been produced in the country: Seriola Lalandi .

Although we had to fight against the big paradigms of the zone: fouling, oxygen lows, great swells and the low temperature for the species (15,2 ºC average year), the result was very promising. We were surprised  by  2 unexpected nature events: 2 large earthquakes (8.2 and 8.4 Richter) with their respective tsunamis, and de big swells of 2015. Cage and fish were submerged and survived without any problem.

STAGE 3: The great challenge, to integrate both experiences in the creation  the technology of the future:  Autonomous farming ships, efficient and without needing to be in territorial waters, which navigate searching the best conditions of the water so that the fish are always in the best possible state without the need for chemical or antibiotic treatments, this will make the animal welfare, the environment care, the profitability of fish farmers and the feeding needs of humanity, are all in line.