OOA Progress Report for the period 1/01/01 through 12/31/01

Principal Investigator(s): Michael Chambers

I. Accomplishments

A. Scheduled Tasks

1. Management of operations, research tasks and personnel at the Open Ocean Aquaculture (OOA) site
2. Acquisition, development and transfer of open ocean cage culture technology
3. Foster industry collaboration for the advancement of open ocean aquaculture

B. Progress on Tasks

1. Management and coordination of the various research activities and personnel offshore are on going. Communication and organization between research personnel has made for more efficient trips to the farm. The overall efficiency has reduced the number of ship days at sea and has decreased the amount of diver time in the water.
   
   
2. Site visitation and communication with the salmon industry (Norway, Ireland, Maine and Canada), tuna industry (Spain) and sea bass and bream industry (Italy and Turkey) has greatly aided in technology development and transfer (Figures 1, 2, 3 and 4). Tricks of the trade are often developed internally and so site visits often reveal novel improvements to a particular farm. In addition, dialog between open ocean aquaculture research projects in the US has maintained an exchange of ideas and shared challenges. The successes and challenges are presented at a numbers of scientific conferences and trade shows throughout the year.
   
   
3. A number of working relationships with industry have been established since the inception of the project in 1999. These relationships are needed in order to incorporate real world ideas and issues into the project. They also provide the means to maintain an active exchange of creative thinking and potential solutions. Heritage Salmon Ltd. (HS) in Blacks Harbour, NB is one such company (Figure 5). They have provided the project with juvenile haddock for experimental growout offshore. Heritage is very interested in moving their salmon cages to more exposed sites. As a result, an S & K proposal was submitted by UNH Engineers and HS to investigate characteristics of floating cages in Maine. The results would then be analyzed and applied to the design of a new robust plastic cage that could endure the open ocean. Other working relationships with industry include Great Bay Aquaculture. They are adapting new husbandry and larval culture techniques for the commercial development of cod. Matt Stommel and the fishing vessel Nobska have been actively involved in the project. They bring practical knowledge regarding rigging, fabrication and deployment of new mooring concepts. Other industry support comes from NET Systems Inc., Environmental Technologies, Inc (ETI), E-Paint, Buoy Tech, Cards Aquaculture and more.

C. Important Results or Findings
Management and coordination of the above tasks have been successful to date. The addition of full time staff (Glen Rice) has also greatly improved operations offshore and has allowed the project to become more efficient thus reducing costs of operations. The "piggy backing" of various user groups at the research site has minimized operational costs to the project. Also, visitation and communication between different aquaculture industries around the world has maintained a flow of new ideas and innovations. This will ultimately decrease the time and effort to develop an economical, remotely operated, open ocean farm.

D. Difficulties Encountered
No major difficulties were encountered in Project Management for this reporting period.

E. Anticipated Success in Meeting Project Objectives in the Scheduled Project Period
The objectives for Project Management were successfully carried out during the 2002 project period.

F. Reports, manuscripts, and presentations resulting from the project
1. Chambers, M., H. Howell and N. Rennels. 2002. Open ocean culture of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) in New England. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

2. Fredriksson, F.W., J.D. Irish, M.D. Chambers, G. Rice, and B. Celikkol. 2002. Field Measurements of the Forcing and Response of an Open Ocean Aquaculture Fish Cage and Mooring System. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

3. Goudey, C.A., K.T. Swanson, C.J. Bridger, M.D. Chambers, G. Rice and J.C. DeCew. 2002. Trials of Robofeeder at Two Open Ocean Sites. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

4. R. Langan, W.H. Howell, M.D. Chambers, B. Celikkol and R. Barnaby. 2002. The University of New Hampshire Open Ocean Aquaculture Demonstration Project. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

5. A.C. Ostrowski, C.E. Helsley, M.D. Chambers, A. Apeitos, J. Zimmerman, R. Cates, J. Bailey-Brock, P. Leung, L.E. Kam and D. Bybee. 2002. Offshore Culture of the Pacific Threadfin Polydactylus sexfilis in Hawaii: Results of the Hawaii Offshore Aquaculture Research Project (HOARP) Phase II. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

6. G. Rice, M.D. Chambers and M. Stommel. 2002. Design, Construction and Operation of an Automated Feed Buoy for Submersible Offshore Cages. 2002. Aquaculture America 2002. San Diego, CA.

7. Howell, H., M.D. Chambers and N. Rennels. 2002. Culture of Atlantic halibut (Hippoglossus hippglossus) in offshore net pens: an update. Flatfish Biology Conference. Westbrook, CT.

8. Exploration of cage and mooring designs in Sicily and Turkey, February 2002.

9. Meetings and presentations with the Canadian Provincial Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture, New Brunswick Salmon Growers Association and Heritage Salmon in NB, Canada, August 2002.

10. OOA Report in Salt Water News, September 2002, Vol.1 Number 2, UNH Marine Program.

11. Gulf of Maine Times Autumn 2002, Vol. 6, #3. "Aquaculture’s New Frontier".

12. Live radio interview with CBC, Canadian Maritime Noon Radio Show in November of 2002.

13. OOA presentation to the New England Retired County Extension Agents in November 2002.

14. Workshop with University of New Brunswick and the Canadian Provincial Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Aquaculture at UNH in October of 2002.

15. OOA Investigators Meeting at UNH in August of 2002

16. Meetings with Cards Aquaculture (NB, Canada) and Gael Force, (Inverness, Scotland) at UNH to discuss new open ocean feed, mooring and cage systems, November of 2002.

17. Meeting with Ocean Spar Technologies and Environmental Technologies Inc. to initiate the design and construction of a centralized feed spar (Figure 6). December 2002 on Bainbridge Island, WA.

II. Tasks and activities for next reporting period

A. Tasks for the next reporting period

1. Implement “Best Management Practices” for the research farm
2. Bring on expertise to develop and maintain telemetry technology
3. Continue management and coordination of research activities
4. Continue collaboration and tech transfer with industry to advance open ocean technologies
5. Facilitate the design and assembly of a multi-grid mooring system that can accommodate commercial size cages
6. Coordinate a creative team of experts for the design of an offshore, centralized feed distribution system
7. Build necessary infrastructure to match the scale of the project

B. Brief work plan to accomplish tasks

1. Explore different management tools that will allow for more efficient control, observation and data acquisition of a remote farm. The investigation of biofeedback tools such as underwater video, Doppler, biomass counters, radio tags and telemetry will be examined. Best management practices can then be established based upon the results.
   
   
2. Additional personnel has been identified to help bridge the gap of communication to and from the farm. Stan Boduch, together with WHOI, will continue to work on developing telemetry technologies for both the feed buoy and environmental monitoring buoy. The goal is to have real time information from the OOA site transmitted back to the University so that management decisions can be determined and daily feedings can be controlled.
   
   
3. Schedule design and construction efforts for the deployment of a new four-grid submerged mooring system. The new mooring will be designed by UNH engineers with the assistance of Cards Aquaculture and Gael Force during the winter of 2003.
   
   
4. Continue coordinating institutional and industry support (WHOI, ETI, NETS and Gael Force) to aid developmental efforts for the fabrication of a centralized feed system that can feed multiple cages. Ideally, this component would be ready for use before winter of 2004. The sources of funds cycle to complete this aspect of the project need to be identified.
   
   
5. As the project scope increases in size, so must the infrastructure to carry out operational tasks. An additional staff member will have to be acquired to compensate for the additional workload with the four-grid cage system. A larger service vessel will be necessary to transport the increased amount of feed to the farm and for harvesting purposes. Cranes will also have to be installed appropriately to facilitate the loading and off loading of feed, fish and equipment. The construction of the new Coastal Marine Laboratory Pier will greatly enhance the project’s ability to perform daily activities as they scale up.

C. Anticipated concerns or difficulties
No major concerns are anticipated

III. Expenditures
The expenditures were adequate for the objectives and timelines for the above project.