Inside The World's Biggest Fish Farm

By 2050, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations predicts that the world's population will reach 9.1 billion people. This is 34% more than it is today. To eliminate mass hunger, food supplies must grow at a faster pace, and world food production must increase by 70%. Current methods of fish farming will not be able to meet the global demand for fish safely and sustainably. In this video, we will tell you how the new largest and most complex fish farm in the world works, and whether similar technologies are able to provide us with food in the future. Wild fish stocks are declining at a rapid pace. The World Wildlife Fund estimates that 53% of the fishing grounds are fully developed, and the global fleet of fishing vessels is two to three times higher than the sustainable state of the world's seas and oceans. If we do not cut back fishing in the very near future, then all types of wild commercial fish could disappear by the middle of the century. More intensive development of fish farms and the construction of new aquaculture facilities can be an effective solution to this problem. More than half of the fish that can now be found on supermarket shelves already come from fish farms. It is obvious that in the future, mankind will be forced to follow the path of artificial fish farming on farms. But in this matter, not everything is so simple. The fact is that traditional fish farming on land or near the coast harms the environment, from the pollution of adjacent lands and waters with fish feed and, as a result, disease outbreaks, to the destruction of mangroves and other wild fish and animals. The development of aquaculture on the high seas and the creation of so-called offshore fish farms three or more miles from the coastline, where water circulation and local ecosystems are more resilient, will help to avoid these problems. Notable successes in this direction have been achieved by the Norwegian fishermen from the Salmar Assa Company, with the support of China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. or CSIC, the largest state-owned shipbuilding company in China. The Norwegians have ordered six Ocean Farm 1 marine fish farms for salmon farming. The farms are designed on the same principle as the semi-submersible rigs used in the offshore oil and gas drilling sector. The first plant was built in 2017 in China. It took 11 weeks to transport the giant floating Ocean Farm 1 from China's Shandong Province to Norway's Trøyfjord. During its sea voyage, Ocean Farm 1 was mistaken by some South Africans for a spaceship moored in their waters for hiding. According to Yang Zhigang, chairman of the CSIC Wuchang Group, this project is the perfect combination of the Norwegian aquaculture industry and Chinese marine engineering technology. The project is intended not only to modernize salmon farming but also to significantly increase fish production in Norway, which is not accidentally called the world's center of fish farming. Fish annually brings $8 billion to the country's economy, which is equivalent to 8% of all exports. Unlike traditional fish farms, Ocean Farm 1 fish farm encompasses the most advanced technologies, including automatic fishing, hydrological monitoring, deep-sea positioning, and biological lighting control systems. The new type of fish farm is a semi- submersible rigid structure about 110 meters wide and 67 meters high, with tension-leg mooring. The facility is intended for installation in the open sea at a depth of 100 to 300 meters. All fish processing operations can be carried out on board without the need for external service vessels or equipment. The offshore fish farm is designed for 25 years of operation, can withstand powerful typhoons, earthquakes up to 12 points, and is capable of breeding up to 1.5 million fish per year. It requires only 3 to 7 employees to operate, and the fish survival rate is over 98%. The installation has more than 20,000 sensors and more than 100 monitors and control units, which provides completely autonomous feeding and monitoring of Moreover, Ocean Farm 1 is also equipped with a 360-degree rotating self-cleaning gate. The movable partition in this gate constantly cleans the farm netting, eliminating bio-fouling that can harm the gills of fish. Thanks to this technology, Salmar can significantly save on additional fish processing. By the way, the health of the fish at the enterprise is monitored by a laboratory, whose specialists analyze data from sensors and make timely decisions. One of these problems which the Salmar Assa company faced almost immediately after the installation of the first farm was the so-called sea lice, crustaceans that parasitize the skin of salmon and feed on the integumen of the host's body. Based on the data received from the IoT sensors, specialists promptly eliminated this problem by releasing 21,500 cleaner fish into the water. The work of the sensors also made it possible to identify the problem of fish leakage and to block the path to freedom of the escapees raised on the farm. In the long term, this could lead to genetic mutations of wild fish and other more global environmental problems. According to experts, the autonomous operation of offshore farms like the Ocean Farm 1 can significantly expand the benefits of aquaculture, reduce the costs associated with raising fish on the high seas. What is more, such objects are devoid of the disadvantages of traditional fisheries. They are as environmentally friendly as possible, do not poison the environment, and do not destroy coastlines as well as mangrove forests. But even more, the Ocean Farm 1 project is focused on the successful development of the fish themselves in their natural habitat, which potentially opens up a new era of sustainable fish farming. The company's position is reflected in the words of the head of the We are quite restrained about what the project holds in the future, but this attitude allows us to solve many of our problems. By investing 1 billion Norwegian kroner or $117 million in the design and development of Ocean Farm 1, Selmar is optimistic about the future. Among other plans, the company intends to launch modernization of the Ocean Farm 2 ocean farms in 2024. According to management, the experience of building and operating of the Ocean Farm 1 has led to even better and more cost-effective solutions. Through systematic and careful planning, the structure has been further refined in the new version of the Ocean Farm 2. Estimated construction time and costs have been reduced and capacity has been increased. To implement this project, the team has already initiated negotiations with shipyards in Norway and abroad, which may become potential construction sites. The further advancement of this project means that on a global scale, humanity has hope for a hunger-free future. Fish farms like Ocean Farm 1 give hope that we and our descendants will not be deprived of fresh fish. The main thing is that this natural resource remains accessible not only physically, but also financially.