New South African venture for Scottish company

The University’s Division of Aquaculture has been contracted by the South African Government’s Departments of Science and Technology (DST), Water Affairs and Forestry, and Agriculture to implement and manage a range of aquaculture projects that will aid in the sustainable development of the country’s fish farming sector.

The programme aims to establish 50-tonne trout and tilapia pilot projects on seven state owned dams. If successful, the pilot projects will be upscaled to 250-500 tonne production units after three years.

In addition to the freshwater projects, a marine finfish pilot project is also currently being undertaken in the Eastern Cape Province on the grow-out of kob and yellowtail.

Stellenbosch University approached Fusion Marine to support these important projects. Agreement was quickly reached, and to date, Fusion Marine has supplied around 20 Aquaflex and Oceanflex fish farm cages, along with onsite engineering support. More cages will be delivered as the projects progress. The cages are supplied in kit form, with the flotation pipes and cage nets all sourced locally.