Upgraded Watermoon closed cages will soon be deployed in Norway
Salmon farmer Eide has further developed the membrane design, while the cause of the damage to the pilot plant is still being investigated
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Norwegian salmon farmer Eide Group is currently having three new Watermoon units built at Worley Rosenberg in Stavanger. Watermoon is the group’s own-design in-sea closed containment system where fish are kept in a submerged structure made with an impermeable fabric membrane, and a net.
According to Sondre Eide, chief executive of Eide Family AS and board chair of Eide Aquaculture, the work is going according to plan.
“The units will go to sea this autumn,” he told Fish Farming Expert’s Norwegian sister site, Kyst.no.
Improved membrane
Compared to the pilot plant that has already been used at Eide’s Hondskår site at Varaldsøy in the Hardangerfjord, the company has made several changes to the membrane design.
“We have carried out extensive work to optimise the design and verify the strength of the membrane bag before production. Tear-stop reinforcements have been built in, and the construction and other reinforcements have been further developed,” said the CEO.
The production of the membrane has also been moved to a certified supplier. According to Eide, the supplier has experience with technical membrane constructions, documented quality control, and traceability throughout the production process.
Safety net from Eldi Aqua
Work on the security nets for the new units is also ongoing.
Eldi Aqua stated in a post on LinkedIn that the company’s service team is in Stavanger to deliver the nets that will enclose the membranes on the Watermoon units.
According to the supplier, the team is working to prepare the solution before the units are launched.
The changes had already been decided
In August, the membrane at Watermoon’s pilot plant at Hondskår was damaged. According to Eide, the safety net worked as it should, and the incident did not lead to an escape.
According to documents, an operator received an alarm at 3.47am on August 28 about a loss of pressure in Watermoon. The unit had reportedly tilted on its side and a tear in the membrane was suspected.
According to the documents, fish between the net and the canvas were detected with a remotely operated vehicle.
Over 50,000 fish out of approximately 435,000 in the unit died as a result of the incident.
The cause is still not clear.
“The most important improvements in the membrane construction and production process had already been decided and implemented in the design for Watermoon 2.0 before the incident at Hondskår in August,” said Sondre Eide.
He said the damage is being investigated in collaboration with relevant authorities, and that the experiences are being included in further improvement work.
Starting with three units
Plans for four new Watermoon units have previously been discussed. When asked why three and not four are now being built, Eide refers to the agreements with the suppliers.
“There are three units that are being completed first and for which an agreement has been made with our suppliers. The ambition remains: there will be many more Watermoon units in the coming years.”
Before further development, Eide wants to document the results from commercial operations.
“When the 2.0 units are in operation, we will document that the technology works on a commercial scale, with low mortality, no lice and with controlled emissions.”
