Project Infrastructure
CINEMar/Open Ocean Aquaculture Annual Progress Report for the period 1/01/05 through 12/31/05
Principal Investigator:Michael Chambers
I. Accomplishments
A. Scheduled Tasks
1. Relocate the OOA operational base
2. Maintain and schedule the R/V Meriel B
3. Overhaul the 0.5-ton feed buoy
4. Aid in the construction of the 20-ton feed buoy
5. Renew site permit
B. Progress on Tasks
1. Relocate the OOA operational base.
Due to the construction of the new pier and pier support facility, the operational base had to be relocated. Numerous sites were investigated from Seabrook, NH to Kittery, ME to serve as a temporary base. Most of these sites were logistically too complicated to serve the needs of the project. As a consequence, permission was granted to store equipment in the UNH owned parking lot adjacent to the US Coast Guard station in Newcastle, NH. The project’s containers, nursery pens and mooring equipment were moved in October and will remain in storage until new pier and pier support facility has been constructed (see section II.A.4. of this report).
The old Coast Guard pier has served the project well as berthing space for the Meriel B and as a staging area for operations. With the demolition of the pier scheduled for December, the vessel and staging area had to be moved. The Meriel B was relocated to Wentworth Marina in Rye, NH for the winter. However, the Wentworth is not conducive to staging heavy gear and transferring and transporting feed. Instead, loading and unloading will take place at the Portsmouth Fishermen’s Cooperative pier. The extra run time from the two places and then out to site will add to the work day and increase fuel costs.
The 1-ton, jib boom that had been mounted on the pier was donated to the Portsmouth Fishermen’s Cooperative. It was removed and placed into storage at the Port Authority until a proper site on the fishing pier is identified.
To make space for the new pier support facility, one of the Sea Station 600m3 fish cages that was not being used was sold to Nathanial Schmidt at Pezco S.A. de C.V. The rim sections, spar, net and itemized parts were loaded on a flatbed truck and shipped to Ensenada, Mexico. Pezca S.A. has plans to deploy the cage in the Northern Gulf of California and stock it with juvenile flounder produced by Great Bay Aquaculture.
2. Maintain and schedule the R/V Meriel B
Tim McClare took over as captain of the R/V Meriel B in October 2006. Outgoing captain Forbes Horton set a new course to the Caribbean on board his sailboat Indra. Tim has made some changes and additions to procedures regarding the daily operation of the boat. These new procedures will be contained in a document that is currently in draft.
There have been several maintenance issues with the Meriel B (Figure 1). Most are routine and have been, or will be rectified. The most severe item concerns a chronic oil leak in the engine itself. It appears to be coming from the rear oil pan area on the port side. Duetz Diesel was advised of the leak who directed Bob Chamberlin of Casco Bay Diesel to investigate the problem. On two separate occasions, Casco Bay attempted to fix the leak but was unsuccessful. As a result, the regional Duetz Diesel office was contacted in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. Discussions with their management agreed the oil leak was a warrantee item. Unfortunately it appears the leak can only be repaired if the engine is lifted up. The space between the bottom of the deck and the top of the engine is very limited. It is believed the deck will have to be cut in order lift the engine enough to accomplish the repair. This repair will be carried out when the boat is hauled out in June of 2007. In the short term, the oil leak is monitored daily and oil added as needed. Oil rags or bilge diapers have been used in the bilge where the oil collects. The waste oil has been pumped out of the bilge several times, put into a five gallon bucket and properly disposed of in a waste oil facility. To temporarily rectify this problem, a drip pan will be fabricated and placed under the leak to keep the bilge as free from oil as possible. The pan will be equipped with a removable plug so that oil can be drained into a container and properly disposed of.
Other repairs to the vessel included fixing leaks in the lazarrete and engine room deck hatches. Corrosion spots were removed and the alternator drive belt was also replaced. All boat supplies have been inventoried and organized. The tool area has been cleaned with tools being stowed in a new toolbox. The cabin area has been cleaned and disinfected on a weekly basis.
3. Overhaul the _0.5-ton feed buoy
In the winter of 2006, the _-ton feed buoy was brought in for a structural overhaul. The mooring attachments on the buoy had worn through from years of service and new pad eyes were fabricated and installed (using steel instead of aluminum). The feed hose was completely rewired to repair the damage done when the hose separated from the cage. This allowed for better data transfer from the cage. The buoy was then reassembled and deployed to feed the 3000 cubic meter Sea Station cage until the 20-ton feed buoy is in place at full operation.
In late spring of 2006, the 0.5-ton feed hose separated from the cage. The cage was sinking lower in the water column and applied excess stress on the bolts securing the feed hose to the cage spar. This led to tensile fatigue and failure of the bolts. The bolts previously installed were made of low-grade steel, so a new set of Grade 8 bolts with a corrosion resistant coating were installed in replacement. Unfortunately, when the hose separated from the cage all of the new wiring installed in the feed hose was torn apart, eliminating telemetry from the cage to the buoy. The buoy’s internal systems continue to function correctly and it resumed feeding fish after reattachment.
In late fall of 2006, the 0.5-ton feed buoy was brought inshore for an overhaul (Figure 2). The fiberglass feed storage hopper had begun to crack, allowing feed to fall through. Several repair attempts were made offshore but each failed to fix the problem. Also, the system had been dosing a new type of food that clogged the feed hose and backed up into the buoy (this was due to the buoyancy of the feed). These two issues led to the decision to service the buoy ashore. A new feed hopper and support system were fabricated out of aluminum at the UNH Ocean Engineering facility (Figure 3). The buoy was given a thorough cleaning and the feed hose clog was cleaned out. All mechanical parts were inspected. The dosing unit had some minor fiberglass repair work to patch two holes that had worn through from repetitive feed contact. Two new batteries were installed to replace a set that had corroded terminals. A new antenna and cabling was installed to remedy a weak telemetry link.
The buoy was redeployed in early December and is operating correctly. All other systems on the buoy appear to be functioning well. New faster sinking feed will be used in the future to prevent clogging of the feed pumping system.
4. Aid in the construction of the 20-ton feed buoy.
The 20-ton feed buoy has been under development for three years with funding from a NOAA Small Business Innovation Research grant to Ocean Spar and UNH with additional funds provided by the UNH OOA program. The bid for construction was initially issued on June 10th, 2005 but sufficient funds were not available for construction. Additional funds were identified, and the bids were reissued in November of 2005. Aquaculture Engineering Group from Hillsborough, New Brunswick won the contract for construction. Project personnel and engineers frequently visit the construction site for guidance and quality control. The buoy is still under construction (Figure 4) and a detailed update can be found in I.B.3. of the Open Ocean Aquaculture Engineering Annual Report.
5. Renew site permit
The New Hampshire Fish and Game Aquaculture permit #2006-04 was renewed for 2006 and authorizes the experimental farm to sell cod, haddock and halibut.
C. Important Results or Findings
Construction and maintence of the project’s infrastructure are detailed above.
D. Difficulties Encountered
Relocating the project vessel, staging area and equipment has been time consuming and has decreased operational efficiency. Having these components in different areas requires additional time, effort and expense. Hopefully, the pier construction will go as planned so that the project can regroup in one area again.
E. Anticipated Success in Meeting Project Objectives on Schedule
All Project Infrastructure objectives were completed during this reporting period except for the deployment of the 20-ton feed buoy.
F. Reports, manuscripts, and presentations resulting from the project
Please see section I. F. of the Project Management and Offshore Operations Report.
II. Tasks and Activities for Next Reporting period
A. Tasks for the next reporting period
1. Improvements to the R/V Meriel B
2. Final fabrication and relocation of the 20- ton feed buoy
3. Recovery of the 0.5-ton feed buoy
4. Construction of new pier and pier support facility
5. Design and manufacture HDPE pens for the new pier
6. Renewal of site permit
B. Brief work plan to accomplish these tasks.
1. Improvements to the R/V Meriel B
The R/V Meriel B will continue to support daily operations at the farm. The vessel will be heavily relied upon for dive support, deployment of equipment and transferring feed to the new feed buoy. Other activities for the vessel during the next reporting period will include:
a. A policy manual will be established for the boat. The manual will allow anyone to properly start-up or shutdown the boat in both winter and summer. It will also provide instructions and guidelines for all routine maintenance issues such as oil changes and other pre-scheduled maintenance; when, how etc. Photographs will be included for reference with nomenclature added. Each system of the boat will have its own chapter within the booklet. In addition, owners’ manuals and contact phone numbers for mechanics or other significant people will be included. An outline will be submitted for review and comment.
b. OOA personnel will be cross-trained on the vessel for maintenance, operations and use of auxiliary equipment such as cranes, winches and electronics.
c. A boom winch will be acquired for the articulating crane. This will greatly aid in lifting heavy objects from the water as it will allow the crane operator to lift and pull items toward the boat at the same time.
d. Currently, the boat’s alternator is only charging the electronics battery bank. The start bank of batteries can only be charged by shore power or the onboard generator. The alternator will be reconfigured so that both battery banks are being charged.
2. Final fabrication and relocation of the 20-ton feed buoy
Presently, the feed buoy is scheduled for final construction in January 2007. At this time, the hull will be launched and towed to a mooring site near the St. Andrews Wharf in St. Andrews, NB. Here, the buoy will be tested to work out operating kinks before it is relocated to New Hampshire in the spring of 2007.
3. Recovery of the 0.5 -ton feed buoy
The 0.5-ton feed buoy will continue to feed the cod until the new 20-ton feed buoy is ready for operation. Until that point the buoy will be maintained and kept in good working order. When the new feed system comes online the 0.5-ton feeder will be recovered from the grid and placed in storage for future use by project investigators.
4. Construction of new pier and pier support facility
A contract was awarded in November to Reed and Reed Inc. of Woolworth, ME for the demolition of the old Coast Guard pier and construction of a new 325’ pier. Demolition commenced in December 2006 (Figure 5) and final construction should be completed by July 2007. Once the pier is finished, construction will commence on the 5000 square foot pier support facility with an expected completion date of fall 2007 (Figure 6). More information and updates on these facilities can be found at the following web site:
http://facilities-dc.sr.unh.edu/Project_Files/MarineResearchFacility/
5. Design and manufacture of HDPE pens for the new pier
Additional holding pens will be built for use under the new pier. This will add to the three existing HDPE pens now in storage during the pier renovation. The new pens will be installed within the confines of the pier in a manor so that they can rise and fall with daily tidal cycles. A net mesh material known as Aquagrid will be used to contain the fish, help prevent escapement and retard biofouling. The pens will be used to hold juvenile fish, broodstock, and live fish ready for market. As funding becomes available, a variety of growout and polyculture studies can be conducted with this infrastructure.
6. Renewal of site permits. The New Hampshire Fish and Game Aquaculture permit will be renewed for 2007.
C. Concerns or difficulties
Offshore operations will be significantly impacted until the new pier and pier support facility are completed. Until then, operations will make best use of the current staging areas and infrastructure until otherwise.
III. Expenditures
Expenditures were commensurate with the tasks and activities conducted during the reporting period.