RECENT ADVANCES IN SUBMERGED OPEN OCEAN AQUACULTURE  

Significant advances in submerged open ocean aquaculture have taken place over the past 2-3 years.  InnovaSea Systems INC, a result of a recent merger between OceanSpar and Ocean Farm Technologies is expanding its technology to include all hardware and operational aspects of submerged open ocean aquaculture. This presentation will focus on recent advancements in netting, mortality management and water based feed delivery.  

InnovaSea has trialed two types of netting over the past 24 months and will trial a third in 2016.  PET based Kikko Mesh and Dyneema / Stainless Steel based Predator-Ex were installed on several 6400 cubic meter submerged fish pens.  The team collected data on fouling rates, parasite and predation resistance, useful life, and ease of installation and maintenance.  While the two types of mesh performed better than the standard Dyneema, there was no clear frontrunner between the Kikko and the Predator Ex.  Copper alloy mesh will soon be deployed and results from that trial will be compared to the Kikko and Dyneema.  

Managing fish mortalities is crucial to the successful operation of a fish farm, more so in warm water where dead fish quickly become gaseous and buoyant.    The buoyant dead fish drift around the pen attracting predators and potentially spreading disease.   Mortality Traps were designed built and tested in the warm waters of Panama.  The recently deceased fish sink to the bottom and then are trapped in a chamber until they can be pumped to the surface in a diver free operation.  Results were positive.

Feed delivery to submerged pens using the traditional method of forced air is not feasible.  Feed pipes filled with air are extremely buoyant and not easily attached to submerged grid systems.  The air bubbles emanating from the pipe will scare the fish putting them off the feed.  Water delivered feed addresses this and other issues.