2020: AN
AQUACULTURE ODYSSEY
Free-range farmed fish. Sea cages that
sail off to the south and deliver their fish by themselves. Large
autonomous fish farms that float unmoored in the sea. This could
be the aquaculture of the future.
| |
 |
| |
Illustration: SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture
|
The sky is granite-grey. The rain blows across
the surface of the sea in wild gusts and the waves become higher
and higher by the minute. We are in the middle of the Atlantic,
and all that can be seen is ocean, more ocean and yet more ocean.
Then, on the crest of a wave, a flashing orange light pops into
view. The orange light is mounted on the roof of a sort of floating
base. Four long arms reach out from the colossus, and six hemispheres
hang from each arm. As the next flash of lighting tears the sky,
an aircraft lands on one of the outstretched arms. Out of the plane
climbs an inspector, who has come to check what triggered the alarm
that this surfacebased base station transmitted a short while ago.
THE VISION
“We are thinking of a fish farm that runs itself”, Lader
says.
We are back ashore in 2005. At SINTEF Fisheries
and Aquaculture, research scientist Pål Lader lets his imagination
run wild with the many possibilities that technology can offer the
aquaculture industry.
“It is only our imagination that sets the
limits on the development of open-sea fish farming. We could ...
and ... and perhaps even....”. The enthusiastic scientist describes
possibility after possibility; here is a look at just a few of his
ideas.
GO TO SEA!
“As its name suggests, a surfacebased base station would
float on the surface, without any sort of mooring. Unlike current
systems,which are set out in the arms of fjords and similar calm
waters, this system would be located several miles off the coast,
in open waters”, Lader says”. Lader and his colleagues are thinking
along the lines of what is being discussed internationally. The
spring 2004 issue of the magazine “Wired” included an article entitled
“The Bluewater Revolution”, which discussed how the oceans will
have to be exploited for fish farming. In the autumn of the same
year, a conference was organised in Ireland on the subject of “Farming
the Deep Blue", attracting participants from the USA, Canada, New
Zealand and several European countries, including Norway.
“There are not all that many fjords around
the world,which is why we need to think differently. Where is there
plenty of room? In the open sea. Moving fish farms to the open sea
would bring a number of advantages. In the first place, it would
take pressure off the coastal zone, which is often a conflict area
because of the lack of space. Secondly, fish farms at sea would
produce less pollution, both because of the feeding situation and
because they would be further from other ecosystems. Furthermore,
the greater distances between the sea cages that such an approach
would allow would reduce the danger of infections, and the ready
availability of clean water and the natural surroundings would improve
product quality. I expect that fish from ocean fish farms will acquire
a reputation for quality and environmentally responsible production
that will make them more attractive than their cousins from coastal
farms”, says Lader enthusiastically.
MARITIME GRAZERS
Sea cages, or the netting cages in which captive farmed fish
spend their lives, also offer good prospects for the future, according
to SINTEF’s marine scientists.
“The fish should be able to graze, just like
sheep in the mountains. The sea cages should be autonomous and locate
themselves wherever it is best for the fish at any given time. If
food is available a few kilometres to the east, the sea cages would
move there, so that their occupants can eat. If the waves are high,
the cages they would move deeper under the sea. Fish can actually
become seasick, and they do not appreciate being in sea cages that
are being flung up and down by ten metre high waves. If a vessel
approaches, the sea cage will submerge in order to avoid a collision”,
says Lader. However, the sea cages will never be completely independent.
They will be able to attach themselves to one of the stations along
the four arms of the base.
“They might connect themselves to such a
control station in order to receive information, or to be inspected.
We have not got as far as these kinds of details yet”, explains
Lader.
ALL-KNOWING
At the centre of this floating wonder is the plant’s oracle,
the very brain of the base station. This centre will maintain a
complete overview of all the conditions in the vicinity of the system,
such as temperature, weather conditions, nutrient availability,
oxygen levels,waves and currents.
“The centre will always be able to supply
the sea cages with information about their surroundings and locate
itself in an optimal position on the basis of the data that it gathers.We
also expect that the centre will move landwards if it needs repairs,
or that the sea cages or even the whole system will sail to the
shore when the fish are ready for processing. Another possibility
is that the base would move south towards the countries that would
buy its fish when it registers that they are ready for delivery.
We just have to exploit the potential of the system and think in
new ways”, believes Lader.
“The ultimate step would be that the fish
didn’t even realise that they were living in captivity. That’s what
we are working towards”; says the SINTEF marine scientist.
SMART ADAPTATION
The background of the scientists’ science fiction-like plans
is a fiveyear research project financed by the Research Council
of Norway. The underlying technology for this research project is
cybernetics, or automatic control. SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture
is collaborating with MARINTEK on making more use of the technology
that is already in use in other areas of the fishfarming industry.
“This industry is still in the Stone Age
where technology is concerned. We are going to try to take a step
further and look at the possibilities for fish farming of the future.
Today’s systems are primitive, in that they largely consist of a
pipe formed into a ring, from which a net is hung. By using cybernetics
we can develop more suitable systems. Today we put a lot of effort
into building structures capable of withstanding heavy stresses,
but in the future we will make use of smart structures that can
adapt to their surroundings. A sea cage made up of flexible components
could change its shape and location as required by the environment
and thus offer the fish better living conditions”.
Nonetheless, Lader emphasises that a surface-
based base station is still no more than a vision, with questions
that remain to be answered and problems to be solved.
“We have only been working on this project
for a year, and we still have a long way to go.We hope to end up
with some sort of prototype system by the time that the project
is finished, or perhaps a component that can be connected to existing
systems to place them under automatic control. We can use parts
of the technology to meet partial targets on the way. We cannot
take one single large step from today’s systems to sea-going base
stations, but within 15 or 20 years, I believe that we will be deploying
aquaculture plants that will be very similar to what we are envisioning
today”.
By Maria Landrø Evensen
Contakt: Pål Lader, SINTEF Fisheries
and Aquaculture
Tel: +47 926 80 705, email: pal.lader@sintef.no
|
