Argy - nedsenket merd for fiskeoppdrett på eksponerte lokasjoner og i åpent hav

Offentlig prosjektsammendrag

The Norwegian government wants the Norwegian aquaculture industry to expand in a sustainable manner. That means less sea lice, less escapes and reduced impacts of discharge We have developed revolutionary new cage technology for salmon farming, named Argy, which can withstand the roughest offshore weather conditions and will remain submerged for the full production cycle. Argy will only be surfaced for specific maintenance or extraordinary events such as systems malfunction. The uniqueness of Argy is that it is based on a flexible wire frame with no stiff elements and no mechanical structures. The construction can be designed for almost any kind of weather and will typically be placed on exposed coastline and offshore locations at depths of 75 -150 meters, with sea states reaching Hs 12m. There are no surface elements except for a communication/utilities buoy. The buoyancy of the system will be autonomously regulated and daily husbandry tasks such as feeding will be remote controlled from a land base. The ceiling on the cage where the salmon are kept will be at approximately 15 meters depth which is below the normal sealice zone. Given that there are no stiff elements the construction is less prone to wear and tear of nets and the risk of salmon escapes is therefore reduced compared to conventional farming technology. An integrated unit at the top of the net, the local ARK, consists of an air pocket (necessary for the fish to fill up their swim bladders), feeding hose and hose for extracting. The local Ark is in turn connected to the Master Ark which contains the same functions as a modern feed barge, the main difference being that it is submerged. The main constraint for establishing offshore farms has been the lack of sufficiently robust farming technology. We are confident that Argy has the required capabilities for being a future offshore salmon farming platform and that its development will contribute to opening up much needed new farming areas in Norway