New beginnings
Aquaculture suppliers are not standing still as cage and pen technology continues to evolve
It has been a busy few months for news in the world of containment, with new deliveries, corporate �e-ups and updated models about to be unveiled. In June, aquaculture supplier Gael Force agreed an e clusive deal with net manufacturer Fibras Industriales SA (FISA) to provide nets for fish farming in Scotland. FISA, based in Peru, produces a range of high-quality ne�ng products including supra HDPE high-tenacity containment and predator nets, raschel polyester and nylon containment and protec�on nets, and twisted knotless muketsu nets.
Gael Force will market FISA’s products in Scotland, plus an e clusive new Sea ureNet, manufactured by FISA, which will be a key element of Gael Force’s turnkey offering.
The deal also brings in John Howard of Boris Net, a long-�me partner for FISA in the , with e tensive e perience in aquaculture, who will be working with Gael Force on serving customers.
Meanwhile, Indian-based net and rope manufacturer Garware Technical Fibres announced the appointment of Alan Sutherland as Country Manager, Scotland. He is a well-known figure in the salmon farming sector, with a career including nine years as head of what was then Marine Harvest (now Mowi). More recently, he has been working with the Sco�sh Salmon Company, a customer for Garware’s SealPro range of ne�ng.
Sutherland has also recently oined the board of the Sustainable Aquaculture Innova�on Centre (SAIC). As he puts it: “I’ve always been interested in innova�on.”
A key part of his role with Garware is liaising with customers and other stakeholders on trials of the company’s technology in Scotland, and gathering feedback on the farmers’ needs.
Legisla�on now limits farmers’ ability to protect against seal preda�on, and Garware’s Sapphire SealPro range of containment ne�ng solu�ons have achieved a market share of more than in the Sco�sh sector.
Garware says the success of SealPro ne�ng is due to its higher mesh breaking strength, s�ffness, enhanced cut resistance and single-sided knots and compact ne�ng structure which leads to be�er condi�ons for salmon, protec�ng them from predators. The high-density polyethylene (HDPE) ne�ng also has a much longer working life than conven�onal nylon.
Sutherland adds: “Farmers’ op�ons are limited and nobody wants an escape. It would be rash not to have the strongest net you can get
It would be rash not to have the strongest net you can get
“Also, HDPE nets provide good protec�on, but they s�ll need to be cleaned. In the summer, this can be as o�en as every seven days. We are looking to see how we can minimise that.”
Tradi�onally, copper oxide paint has been used as an an�foulant, but the coa�ng eventually washes off and this can release the material into the marine environment.
Garware’s V2 technology is based on a composite net that incorporates copper nanopar�cles – not oxide. This is longer las�ng and the periods between cleaning can be extended, saving on costs for the farmers and also reducing stress for the fish.
Garware and FISA also face s�ff compe��on from other manufacturers serving the aquaculture and fishing industries, such as W & J Knox in Scotland, Norway’s Morenot and Faroes-based Vonin, which has a range of nets and cages designed to take on high-energy sites in the
North Atlan�c.
The summer has also seen the delivery of new nets and cages in Scotland and the Faroes. In
June, salmon farmer Mowi took delivery of 10 160-metre Polarcirkel pens from AKVA for its farm site at Loch Seaforth on the Isle of Harris.
These are Mowi’s first pens in Scotland to be built on this scale. In addi�on to the 10x 160m pens, AKVA supplied the sites with two new mooring grids, bird nets and fibreglass poles, plus two HDPE nets in partnership with net maker Tufropes.
Don MacLeod, Seaforth site manager with Mowi commented at the �me: “The installa�on of 160 metre pens… are important as we look to raise salmon at exposed loca�ons that offer excellent growing condi�ons but also offer increasing weather challenges from storms. The installa�on of 160 metre net pens and other associated infrastructure supplied by AKVA group will significantly improve our containment systems and safety.
In the Faroes, fish farmer Hidden�ord has placed an order with manufacturer FiiZK for a third semi-closed Certus 15000 cage. Construc�on is already under way for two Certus cages for Hidden�ord.
FiiZK’s semi-closed model is intended to protect the fish from sea lice and shelter them from rough seas. When all three cages are in place, they will provide Hidden�ord with a capacity of 45,000m3.
Construc�on of the first and second cages is taking place in collabora�on with local suppliers, including the MEST shipyard. FiiZK’s Project Manager, Børge Sneisen, says: “This is the same delivery model that we use in Canada and we have great faith in it. Our ambi�on is that all possible produc�on is carried out by local suppliers in all of our projects globally.”
Open net-pens remain the default model for containment, but there is increasing investment being put into closed and semi-closed systems such as the Certus.
FishGLOBE (made by the company of the same name) is a fully closed tank for smolt and post-smolt produc�on that offers the combined advantages of land-based recircula�ng aquaculture systems (RAS) farming with tradi�onal farming at sea.
The system is built in HDPE and is fully closed, with inlet pipes taking seawater in from a deep level – below the depth at which sea lice are usually found.