The Fish and Farmer Friendly Submersible Cage (Source: Open Water Systems Ltd.)

Other advantages include:

1.) A bouyancy control system that allows a fully controlled ascend and descend through the water column.  The cage can be suspended at any depth in the water column in any depth of water.

2.) Top portion of cage can be raised 14′ to allow net inspection and cleaning.

3.) Cage cube allows various net designs and configurations.

4.) Capable of larger rearing volumes at reduced cost/cubic meter.

5.) Full scale open water tested in 5 meter seas.

Open Water Systems Ltd. is currently seeking companies  or individuals that are interested in using this cage in real production conditions.  The cage can be seen at www.openwatersystems.com.  We can be contacted @ 705 377 4044 or by email @ jefftuerk@hotmail.com.  The full size cage can be dismantled and container shipped worldwide.

Aquapod™ (Source: Ocean Farm Technologies, Inc.)

Sometime ago we posted about heading towards automation self propelled aquaculture cages. Since then, Cliff Goudey, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center, has been working on a project funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is testing these cages with cobia farming operations in Puerto Rico.

Goudey has equipped an Aquapod™ cage, produced by Maine-based Ocean Farm Technologies, Inc., with a set of propellers, which act as big screws that churn their way through the ocean.

Self Propelled Cage (Source: www.wickedlocal.com)

Working recently at Snapperfarm Inc., the cobia operation in Puerto Rico, Goudey’s cage has proved itself capable of moving on its own.

For footage of the sea trials in action click here to watch a video.

Click here for more information on this topic. ]]> http://finfish.org/blog/robotic-offshore-cages-%e2%80%93-the-future-of-fish-farming/feed/ 0 http://finfish.org/blog/reducing-fishmeal-in-aquaculture-feeds/ http://finfish.org/blog/reducing-fishmeal-in-aquaculture-feeds/#comments Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:28:31 +0000 Michelle http://finfish.org/?p=705

Fishmeal (Source: www.nofima.no)

According to the Nofima website, salmon can grow well on feeds utilising far less fishmeal than is currently standard.

Whilst fishmeal is a valuable source of protein, a combination of price, sustainability and flexibility factors are leading feed producers to source alternatives.  Plant proteins cannot completely replace marine ingredients without affecting the performance of the farmed fish.  Therefore, Nofima is investigating the issue from a different perspective – by increasing the nutritional value of the fishmeal, less product is required.  

Some of the substances that make raw marine ingredients valuable are separated with water in the production of fishmeal.  The water is referred to as ’stickwater’ and in order to exploit it, the stickwater is highly concentrated and returned to the fishmeal.   Examples of substances in the stickwater include: free amino acids, peptides, small proteins, minerals and soluble vitamins.  The production of low value fishmeal for non-aquaculture feed purposes does not include the transfer of the stickwater back to the fishmeal.  This creates a surplus of stickwater that Nofima believe can be utilised in fish feed for the aquaculture industry.

For further information, please click here.

These Cones are used to inexpensively and simply build a compact system for efficiently holding live fish and aquatic animals. 

The website:  http://www.kboxcones.tk/ has full details of the product and how it works.

Nik writes:

There are vast amounts of low temperature energy ie (45 – 50 C) that is rejected to the atmosphere through evaporation of water.  I was reading a study about fish and prawn growth rates (particularly Kuruma prawns) adversely affected by lower temperature waters.

I would like to know if anyone had considered coupling the two industries on a large scale (ie 100 ha size farms) and if so, with what result?  The concept is not exactly new, European countries have been utilising the “waste heat” for district heating of dwellings… But there is not much call for district heating in Australia especially since the power stations are located in rural areas.

So I’ve been looking for an industry in Australia that could utilise large amounts of “waste heat” in rural areas.  I think that a primary industry on a large enough scale could warrant some further investigation.  A brief investigation was done during a study for solar thermal desalination of the Murray.

If anyone has any information or would like to discuss this topic, please comment on this post, or create your own post.  Click here for information on how to comment or create your own post.

It is now known that they can influence the development and health of fish based on which nutrients are given to the stem cells.

After studying stem cells in Salmon for ten years, Nofima Marine have discovered that cells perform a greater variety of functions than was previously believed.

For example, in practise, an adequate level of omega-3 fatty acids in feed is important for the tissue development and health of farmed fish in certain stages of a fish’s life.

This research tools allows the study of how stem cells react to different feed ingredients, which can increase the knowledge about the optimal feed composition for the different stages of the fish’s life.  The anticipated development of a stem cell can be changed by adding certain nutrients.

From here they hope to study how access to nutrients affects broodstock, which in turn affects egg quality, larvae and the harvest size fish.

Read the full news article here.

• Independent Power for Offshore Aquaculture
• Contra Rotating Tidal Turbine for Aquaculture
• Aquaculture Power Generation via Wave Energy
• Biogas in Aquaculture
• Heading Towards Automation: Self-propelled Aquaculture Cage
• Onsite Energy Storage

The intent of the authors has probably been to encourage us to think about alternatives to diesel genarators given growing concerns about sustainability and cost.

One thing that we have not adequately treated in these posts is the viability of these alternative power generation technologies – especially their ability to be cost competitive with fossil fuel energy sources.

Well, for aquaculture, the game has just changed.

Thanks to the breakthrough thinking done by Professor Bernitsas a totally new approach to power generation exploiting a known principal has been developed. It holds real potential as a low cost power source for any activity operating in a location that has access to low speed water movement (as low as 1 knot) – like many aquaculture operations for instance!

Unlike many alternative power generation alternatives, including those discussed earlier on this site, the energy insight developed by Prof Bernitsas ranks highly against innovation quality metrics.

Michael Bernitsas is a professor in the department of marine engineering at the University of Michigan.

The device works on the well-known principle of vortex-induced vibrations, which in an ocean setting are known to play havoc with the cylindrical steel risers and mooring lines that anchor offshore oil platforms.

As part of his research for the oil industry, Bernitsas has spent much of his career trying to figure out ways to suppress these destructive natural vibrations. Four years ago, it occurred to him that if he enhanced and tapped into these vortex forces, he could design a device that generates emission-free electricity.

The best way to get a quick understanding of how this principle works is to take a look at the video files that show the device operating in a lab setting. One may be accessed:

• http://www.technologyreview.com/video/?vid=160

A new company, Vortex Hydro Energy has been formed to commercialise the breakthrough. Additional video files may be accessed from the company home page (scroll down).

A patent application Fluid Motion Energy Converter seeking protection for the energy generation concept was filed in November 2005.

A recent patent application notes that certain peptides can be incorporated in polymer formulations to prevent biofouling.

MariCal’s technology platform is built around the science of calcium sensing receptor proteins (CaSRs). MariCal’s key discovery is that of a class of molecular extracellular ion receptor proteins, called Calcium Receptors serve as the biological “thermostats,” or “master switches” that enable fish and other aquatic organisms to sense and respond to changes in both water salinity and nutrients in their aquatic environment.

MariCal’s Calcium Sensing Receptors have an array of existing interesting applications in aquaculture: 

• In late June 2008 MariCal announced the exclusive global licensing of the Company’s smoltification technology, the SuperSmolt® Program, to Europharma to service the commercial salmon industry.
• In addition, MariCal is a joint-venture partner in Low Salinity Inc., based in Saltville, Virginia – a land-based recirculation production and research facility for cobia.

MariCal states that amongst other things that its capabilities can be used to generate the following benefits in finfish aquaculture:

• Add value with an all natural finishing process
  • permits fine-tuning of taste
  • increases fillet thickness
  • assures consistent taste/texture of aquacultured freshwater and saltwater fish
• Increase yield for higher profit
• Produce high value marine species in freshwater sites near major markets
• Improved methods of producing and processing fish eggs for caviar and sushi markets

The discovery, development and deployment of MariCal’s calcium receptor science in aquaculture is an exceptional example of the cross boundary application of science to generate breakthroughs in an ‘unrelated field’ – one of the classical tennets of the practice of open innovation.

For a more extended discussion of the science behind Calcium Receptors, their role in humans, and how they function in aquatic organisms, click here for a PDF document.

Elements of Marical’s patent portfolio may be viewed here.

MariCal has operations in Chile, through its subsidiary CienciaMar, and offices in Canada, United Kingdom, and Norway.

To date, the Finfish site includes nine other posts which address issues related to fouling.  These may be accessed by clicking on this link or by conducting a search by typing your terms into the box on the top right hand corner of this page.

The site also provides details concerning preparing a production costs proforma.

For further information you may care to visit: http://www.mdsg.umd.edu/programs/extension/aquaculture/finfish/factsheets/ff4/