Acualoop
Case
How can offshore aquaculture optimize fish farming to reduce environmental impact, enhance sustainability, and address the growing global demand for food production?
Challenge
Traditional coastal aquaculture faces significant challenges in scaling due to environmental impact, regulatory constraints, and limited available space. Issues such as nutrient pollution, sea lice, and chemical discharges have made coastal operations unsustainable for large-scale expansion. For Aqualoop AS, the key challenge is to develop a sustainable model for offshore fish farming that minimizes ecological disruption while supporting global food needs.
Solution
Through Terravera’s advanced data-driven models, Aqualoop gains insights to:
Quantify Environmental Impact: Analyze the effects of offshore operations on surrounding marine ecosystems, focusing on factors like nutrient dispersion and sea lice prevalence.
Optimize Operations: Refine the ABD design to reduce waste, improve fish health, and enhance sustainability.
Support Sustainable Growth: Enable large-scale aquaculture in open seas, away from vulnerable coastal areas.
How We Collaborate
Aqualoop and Terravera collaborate to model the environmental impacts of offshore aquaculture compared to coastal aquaculture. This includes:
Nutrient Dispersion Analysis: Modeling how fish waste disperses in offshore environments with stronger currents, reducing local sedimentation.
Copper and Anti-Fouling Agents: Studying the impact of copper used in net coatings and optimizing strategies to minimize accumulation in marine sediments.
Sea Lice Management: Assessing the reduced risk of sea lice transmission due to the distance from coastal fish populations.
Key Achievements
Reduced Environmental Impact:
Offshore locations show lower nutrient buildup and better waste dispersion compared to coastal farms.
Less risk of harmful copper accumulation in sediments due to strong ocean currents.
Sea Lice Control:
Offshore farms significantly lower the risk of sea lice infections impacting wild fish populations, addressing a major challenge in coastal aquaculture.
Sustainable Food Production:
The Aqualoop Big Dipper enables aquaculture expansion into offshore waters, supporting the goal of producing “emission-free” fish in the future.
A Game-Changer for Decision-Makers
Aqualoop’s collaboration with Terravera empowers stakeholders to:
Understand Environmental Impacts: Data-driven insights help anticipate and mitigate offshore aquaculture challenges.
Promote Sustainable Practices: Support growth in fish production without compromising marine ecosystems.
Enhance Credibility: Third-party validation strengthens trust and transparency with regulators, consumers, and investors.
