FISH FARMING TECHNOLOGY by Nina Hanssen, Commercial Director of Aqua Farming Solutions B.V., a subsidiary of H2O Technics B.V., The Netherlands
As the key industry that needs to ensure the evergrowing world population will have sufficient food on the table in the future, the aquaculture industry has a huge burden upon its shoulders. Fish consumption is growing rapidly, not only due to better availability, but also since consumers are becoming more and more aware of the health advantages of seafood. There is no reason to believe that this will change, but fish farmers all over the world are preparing effectively for the necessary adjustments
INNOVATION NEVER SLEEPS: THE POWER OF C-DOME TECHNOLOGY Although parts of the industry might still have a long way to go before it is sustainable in the eyes of a fairly big part of the consumer market, there is no doubt that within the industry itself, there is a fast-growing awareness of the importance of sustainable and environmentally friendly farming, as well as increased efforts to meet the requirements of the consumers. Today’s aquaculture industry is young, and it stands to reason that it still has a few issues that need better solutions, including the continuous problems caused by parasites which not only has an impact on wild fish like trout and salmon, it also disaffects public opinion towards farmed fish around the world. A vast amount of money is being spent globally every year to continue to improve all aspects of aquaculture, and the will to find solutions to problems, is enormous, giving credit to the entire industry as a whole as the efforts and self-appointed targets are consequently raised. For example, new techniques and ideas are invented, developed and tested, and existing techniques improved where possible. Finding one method which can solve all issues is the ultimate goal for everyone involved in aquaculture, and as the whole industry goes through a continuous development and is strong enough to face any new challenges, there is no doubt that aquaculture will sooner or later succeed in finding that one method. Indeed, we might be closer than we realise.
A new technology, a natural solution
The technology of H2O Technics B.V. was developed by a team of Dutch inventors more than 12 years ago, and although it was based on an already known technology, the Dutch inventors were able to reinvent and customise the technology for various purposes related to water treatments. Similar technology is used in several areas of everyday life; pregnancy ultrasound, echo sounding to determine depth of water, automatic door openers, processing of liquids and paper, cleaning of medical equipment; the list is endless. The C-Dome has been developed by Aqua Farming Solutions, for and together with the aquafarming industry, and it is equipped with four resonators mounted on the inside, three aiming sideways and one aiming straight down. The C-Dome is preferably placed in, or close to the middle of, the fish cage and each resonator has a reach of approximately 50 meters in salt water. Together with the electronics box mounted on the frame, each resonator is able to create non-inertial Nano-cavitation: The microscopic vibrations caused by the resonators, change the
36 | July 2017 - International Aquafeed