May 18, 2021

 

Scottish salmon producer begins trial with Poseidon Ocean's green aeration system

 
 

Top UK salmon producer Scottish Sea Farms has announced it will start trials of Poseidon Ocean Systems' green aeration system, Flowpressor, to protect its salmon from potentially harmful plankton.

 

Flowpressor is an innovative compressor system designed specifically for use within the aquaculture industry, which has demonstrated sharp reductions in energy consumption for off-grid fish farming systems. It was designed to improve water quality and fish welfare while reducing diesel fuel consumption by nearly 60%.

 

Paired with Poseidon's IOT firmware, the system offers farmers significant additional operational advancements, the company said.

 

The system is already in operation along Canada's west coast, with salmon farmers reporting a 50-60% reduction in algae inside the pen, improved fish survival and improved growth due to fewer lost feeding days.

 

Innes Weir, Scottish Sea Farms' regional production manager, said: "Flowpressor effectively draws 'clean' water from depth of the pen – in other words, well away from the planktonic surface layers – and distributes it upwards, improving water quality throughout the whole pen.

 

"It also comes with the additional option of 'bubble curtains' which create a barrier to plankton and other biological challenges such as jellyfish infestations, significantly reducing the concentration of these potentially harmful organisms within open pen systems."

 

The pilot, which will start this month, will see six of the trial farm's 12 pens near Oban, Scotland, connected to Flowpressor and the remaining six pens served by a standard compressor.

 

Scottish Sea Farms has also achieved a first in farmed fish health, with no antibiotics used in any of its farming operations in 2020.

 

Matt Clarke, co-founder of Poseidon Ocean Systems, said: 'Not only is Flowpressor more effective at protecting farmed fish health than standard systems, it's also 56% more fuel efficient, reducing CO2 emissions by as much as 700 tonnes for each unit installed. That's the equivalent of taking 150 passenger vehicles off the road for one year.

 

"Designed for longevity, the system also has an operating life estimated to be three times that of other options on the market, further reducing its carbon, water and waste footprints."

 

Poseidon's Flowpressor is now being actively marketed here in Canada, as well as in the United Kingdom, Chile, Australia and New Zealand.

 

The company plans to open an office in Chile in the next quarter.

 

- SeaWestNews