Pro Audio, Amps and Marketing

Did you ever wonder how your “farm-raised” fish were actually raised? If you thought like me, you probably thought of them living in some bay or inlet, housed in a big cage, or in a big pool. I never thought fish might be raised in the middle of the ocean and they generally aren’t very successfully for several reasons. But, this fish farming prospect is a reality today because of a creative Maine-based company, Ocean Farm Technologies.

Towing a Ocean Farm Technologies AquaPod off the coast of Mexico

I recently visited the Ocean Farm Technologies (OFT) plant and was impressed by the constant approach development and product improvement. It felt a bit like going to the science museum – there were many scale models, running experiments to test component strength and durability, and many patented components that had to be developed from scratch specifically for the AquaPods.

Here is OFT’s explanation of what the AquaPod is:

Net handling activities in present commercially sized fish pens are labor-intensive, require significant power and cannot be performed in strong seas and currents. The modular nature of the Aquapod solves this problem by utilizing individual net panels which are interchangeable and scaled to be handled easily either on the surface or while submerged. The balance of weight and buoyancy in the net panel materials makes each panel, weighting 40-50kg in air, neutrally buoyant underwater. These net panels are fastened together to form strong secure geodesic spherical enclosures, custom tailored to site specific hydrological and environmental requirements of deep water fish farms. The use of wire mesh netting guarantees superior predator proof containment, greatly reducing the possibility of fish losses due to escapement.

Ocean Farm Technologies has been featured in Forbes, Business Week, and MIT News for their innovative approach to fish farming. They’re quite a cool company with great ideas. Their website has a lot more information about aquaculture – you might as well learn where your food will come from in the near future!