The University of Queensland has co-led a project to design a cost effective yet robust pen to expand fish farming into deeper ocean areas to help feed the growing global population.
The University of Queensland has co-led a project to design a cost effective yet robust pen to expand fish farming into deeper ocean areas to help feed the growing global population.
Professor Chien Ming Wang of the school of civil engineering said competition for space in sheltered nearshore waters meant the industry needed to move further offshore, prompting the Blue Economy Cooperative Research Centre to commission the project.
“Our design will help fish farms meet a growing demand for seafood in an affordable and sustainable way,” Wang said.
Moving fish pens to deeper and cooler water will benefit the ocean and eviroemtn and fish helath and welfare, howver the pens must be able to withstand deep ocean conditions such large ocean waves during storms.
“This solution – named SeaFisher – bundles high-density polyethylene (HDPE) pipes together with custom brackets and connectors to create a frame so we have strength in a lightweight structure,” said Wang.
The pen is estimated to initially cost around $6 million, a fraction of the cost of other, more rigid offshore fish farming structures being used in the northern hemisphere.
Modelling shows SeaFisher could grow ten times the fish of the other offshore pens on the market, some of which cost up to $180 million dollars.
“We estimate that each cubic cage could comfortably house 24,000 fully grown, 5-kilogram finfish,” said Wang.
The design is patent-pending and scale-models will now be tested before prototypes are built.
The project also involves Professor Joerg Baumeister at Griffith University, researchers at the University of Tasmania and industry partners.