Gael Force announces partnerships for semi-closed system
Aquaculture support business Gael Force Group has named its partners in a project aimed at developing a ground-breaking semi-closed containment solution for fish farmers.
Gael Force’s SeaQureFarm is a semi-closed cage structure which aims to keep fish safe from pathogens and predators, and allow for the collection of waste, while at sea.
The Scottish-based company will be working with Cunningham Covers, a Northern Irish manufacturer specialising in protective covers and containment, and with Italy’s Serge Ferrari, a global leader in flexible composite materials, which will be a supply partner.
The SeaQureWell, an integral element in the SeaQureFarm, is an arrangement where seawater is pumped and pushed into a floating enclosed “well” with its floating collar at the sea surface. The collar supports the Well and its pumping arrangements which lifts deeper coastal water into the well creating an in-well temperature profile that is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.
The SeaQureWell will be constructed of engineered high-quality composite membrane material, cut, and welded to form the “Well”, with structural flotation at the surface and a rigid sub-surface service and support structure. It aims to provide and maintain a secure controlled environment to safeguard healthy growing fish against external environmental threats to the fish from sea lice, gill amoeba, jellyfish and algae bloom as well as protect against sea mammal predation.
Additionally, faecal depositions along with any uneaten food will be captured in the “Well” for on-site recovery and reduction for reuse.
Cunningham Covers has experience in creating durable and customized solutions spans more than 50 years. It produces and supplies a range of specialised cover products for aerospace, offshore, and aquaculture applications, including fresh-water treatment bags, fresh-water storage bags, lice skirts, and other custom tarpaulin textile products.
Supply partner Serge Ferrari is a global leader in flexible composite materials. The company will provide cutting-edge fabric technology to enhance the performance and durability of the SeaQureWell system. The use of innovative materials will contribute to the system’s robustness, flexibility, and resistance to environmental factors.
Gael Force Group Managing Director, Stewart Graham, commented: “By announcing this next major step forward in the development of SeaQureFarm, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to the continual improvement of a greener, carbon-friendly way to sustainably produce a healthy, nutritious food protein. We share the sector’s ambition of minimising environmental footprint and moving closer to a goal of achieving net zero. In partnership with Cunningham Covers, supported by Serge Ferrari as our specialised material supply partner, I am extremely confident that our collective experience and expertise will enable us to move the dial considerably towards that target.”
Cunningham Covers Managing Director, David Cunningham, said: “We are delighted to be a long-term partner with Gael Force in this project. Our two companies share core values and ethos, as well as a long-term ambition to grow our presence together in the semi-closed containment fish farming sector, combining the considerable and complementary strengths of both companies”.
The SeaQureFarm
