Fish farming equipment and techniques have advanced greatly over the last few years. Today's offshore fish farms are now producing more fish with less labour when compared to early fish farming systems, said Hans Olav, Aqualine, speaking at Aqua Nor 2015.
What counts as offshore aquaculture is not a simple definition and varies depending where you are in the world. Whether an area is offshore or not completely depends on factors such as sea depth, wave height, current speeds, wind speeds and many more.
Moving aquaculture further from the coast has proved advantageous for both production and for the environment. However, moving aquaculture offshore makes the farm more exposed and vulnerable to extreme weather and sea conditions. There has therefore been lots of research into designing equipment that can withstand the more demanding environment.
One company leading in this research is Aqualine.
Aqualine was established in 1980 and is a total supplier of offshore cage systems around the world, including the Mid Guard system which is an escape proof farming system.
Offering the most proven and documented offshore cages, Mr Olav said that a strong team designs and engineers the cages to fit the location.
As well as creating the floating collars, nets, extension system and mooring, the company also takes full responsibility for the set up of the farm.
In order to make sure that it is providing the best equipment for its customers, Aqualine reinvests four to five per cent of its profits back into research.
