Present State and Future Expectations of MediterraneanAquaculture:

Environmental concern and benefits of Copper alloy nettings for a sustainablehigh value aquaculture industry

Yigit M, Celikkol B*, Gace L**, DeCew J*, Hisar O, Bulut M, Yildiz H, Ozalp B, Kaya H, Yilmaz S, Irkin L.C.COMU, Faculty of Marine Science and Technology, 17100 Canakkale - Turkey

*University of New Hampshire, Mechanical and Ocean Engineering, Durham, 03824 NH - USA

**Copper Alliance/International Copper Association, New York, 10016 NY - USA

WAS Asian Pacific Chapter

High Value Aquaculture Finfish Symposium

15-18 October 2013, Kagoshima - JAPAN

• Aquaculture Production – Europe, Mediterranean (Quantity - Value)

• Present State of Farm Conditions in the Agean and Mediterranean

• Cage Types used in Offshore Sites

• Environmental Issues / New Legislations

• Can Copper alloy Net Technology Promote Sustainable High Value

Aquaculture?

• Copper Net Cage Study Results in the Southern European Seas

Brief Outlook

Aquaculture: Quantity (t) - FAO Statistical Query Results

Country 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Southern European Seas

Turkey 61 163 79 128 92 937 118 067 127 788 139 643 152 700 159 550 167 381 188 885

Greece 66 113 75 794 68 340 80 136 85 057 91 094 93 969 99 621 104 096 121 980

Spain 54 939 57 154 56 159 54 649 58 211 63 806 64 401 64 388 59 484 59 263

Italy 50 612 66 872 47 841 47 800 48 710 59 076 53 075 52 754 52 452 59 172

France 64 321 57 248 52 060 50 352 48 576 48 506 51 436 47 765 46 990 F 48 490

Portugal 4 302 4 126 4 019 4 170 4 388 4 259 3 438 3 395 4 880 5 621

United

Kingdom160 329 161 346 F 174 703 143 012 146 334 147 380 144 317 147 035 169 571 162 874

Norway 548 718 582 588 632 985 656 973 708 624 838 859 846 307 960 112 1 006 009 1 136 870

Japan 319 858 323 978 307 897 310 676 299 627 304 027 300 143 305 693 285 116 269 044

Europe 1 375 973 1 451 818 1 474 963 1 455 125 1 496 485 1 672 504 1 711 542 1 845 480 1 902 999 2 054 022

China 14 564 308 14 502 04215 404 48

716 371 494 17 444 352 18 199 383 19 115 746 20 370 641 21 449 929 22 818 257

© FAO - Fisheries and Aquaculture Information and Statistics Service - 06/09/2013

Diadromous Fishes + Freswater fishes + Marine fishes

Country 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Southern European Seas

Turkey 130 480 277 522 399 489 517 532 552 746 612 215 654 959 625 178 717 053 775 405

Greece 235 032 337 013 355 530 416 599 451 848 521 453 534 214 539 792 575 931 705 753

Spain 210 766 215 004 229 335 230 299 253 942 289 523 388 796 360 262 360 279 384 271

Italy 158 133 318 417 221 396 227 042 242 071 337 334 410 819 466 670 260 753 308 203

France 150 257 171 719 180 734 181 718 173 257 212 315 279 460 234 662 219 906 240 225

Portugal 17 654 21 063 24 108 24 488 26 426 27 366 26 832 26 076 36 268 40 841

United

Kingdom504 836 487 512 529 022 562 034 717 283 889 233 709 879 592 856 742 998 960 811

Norway 1 162 750 1 350 809 1 678 142 2 132 654 2 746 050 2 994 783 3 136 510 3 588 005 5 017 176 5 235 806

Japan 2 006 662 2 159 335 2 155 974 2 108 839 2 209 512 2 140 126 2 432 931 2 727 747 2 682 326 2 843 434

Europe 3 654 370 4 143 020 4 549 682 5 087 307 5 980 061 6 770 171 7 142 845 7 529 146 8 991 287 9 860 708

China 12 843 590 13 167 763 13 987 888 15 198 200 16 923 867 24 053 284 27 219 709 29 088 589 30 984 053 33 140 286

© FAO - Fisheries and Aquaculture Information and Statistics Service - 06/09/2013

Diadromous Fishes + Freswater fishes + Marine fishes

Aquaculture: Value (USD 000) - FAO Statistical Query Results

Turk

ey

Turk

ey

Gre

ece

Gre

ece

Spai

n

Spai

n

Ital

y

Ital

y

Fran

ce

Fran

ce

Port

.

Port

.

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

200000

2002 2011

210%

85 %

8 % 17 %

- 25 %

31 %

Qu

anti

ty (

t)

Year

Mediterranean Aquaculture

% Increase in Production

2002 – 2011

311.000 t

173.000 t

© FAO - Fisheries and Aquaculture Information and Statistics Service - 06/09/2013

Diadromous Fishes + Freswater fishes + Marine fishes

Proportional Split of Freshwater and Marine Aquaculture in Turkey

FreshwaterAquaculture Mariculture

Primarily located

on the Aegean (92%)

Suitable geographical

&

Hydrographic

conditions

Porgy (Dentex dentex)

Sparidae familly

Red Sea bream (Sparus pagrus)

Sharpsnout Sea bream (Diplodus vulgaris)

Salmon Bass – Meagre (Argyrosomus

regius)

Turbot (Psetta maxima)

New species in the

MediterraneanAquaculture

Primitive Cages in the Aegean in 1980’s

Aegean Sea – 2013

Mediterranean Mariculture is Mooving Offshore

Sea bream and Sea bass culture

Year 2006 Ministry of Environment and Forestry amended Environmental Law

to exclude marine cages from;

- Environmentally sensitive areas

- Enclosed bays and

- Near shore areas

New Regulations for Cage farming

Parameters and criteria for sensitive areas where cage fish farms are not allowed:

Parameters Criteria

Water depth ≤ 30 mDistance from coastline ≤ 0.6 mileCurrent speed ≤ 0.1 m/sec

Sensitive Areas

Before & After

… the new Environmental Legislations

Reduce conflicts between coastal zone users

Increase production capacity while reducing environmental concerns (Table 1 /2002-2011)

Improve productivity and profitability (Table 2)

There is no doubt that moving off-shore may…

New investment costs

However, offshore farmers had to face technical challenges:

Legislative and administrative regulations

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) procedures

New applications, skill and management

Well developed Infrastructure and Suppliers in the Area

Barge FeedingSystemAegean Sea

Aegean Sea

Turkish Offshore Cage Farming

Systems

Different Regulations in Mediterranean Countries

Two Aquaculture Sites withsimilar Geographical

characteristics in the Aegean

Exposed AreaOpen to heavy Sea

Conditions

Turkish Coast, Offshore – Exposed Site

Fish cages in enclosed bays, Protected Area

Enclosed bays - Protected Area

Enclosed bays - Protected Area

Enclosed bays - Protected Area

Cage site close to shore

Offshore Cage site

Environmental Concern and Benefits ofCopper alloy Nettings for

a Sustainable High Value Aquaculture Industry

High Quantity Aquaculture?

High Value Aquaculture?

Since the world’s population continues to grow, the Oceans will continue to serve People as

a source for food supply.

Marine aquaculture industry produces 19 million tons of fish and shellfish annually and

supplies almost half the world’s demand for fish, according to a United Nations study,

titled the State of World Fisheries in Aquaculture 2012.

Copper alloy Netting is a new material and candidate to Promote Sustainable High Value

Aquaculture…The strength of copper alloys aids in fish development and keeps predators away. Copper-

alloy mesh is successfully being used in some countries, Chile, Australia and Japan.

No organic growth on the nets – Stay-clean nets

Improved water circulation in the system

Better feed intake and FCR

Healthier fish – Higher Yields

Greater cost savings

As the Aquaculture industry looks to feed the world with its 9 billion people in 2050 in a

sustainable way, we need to give fish farmers worldwide the ability to safely produce

high yields of fish while protecting the environment.

At the European Commission's annual seminar on «State of Fish Stocks in European

waters», It has been concluded that big improvements have been made in EU fish

stocks in the North-east Atlantic, whilst Mediterranean stocks are under worsening

threat.

"Mediterranean stocks are as overfished as those in the northern areas were a decade

ago. The Mediterranean countries now need to get moving quickly to sort out this

overfishing before it leads to serious collapses and environmental damage” Maria

Damanaki (EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) said-17 September

2013, Brussels.

http://www.worldfishing.net/news

Project Objectives

•Investigate durability and strength of copper-alloy nets

under farm conditions

•Evaluate growth performance and feed utilization of

Sea bass and Sea bream

•Develop / test new copper alloys and cage

construction methodologies

Team members

– Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey

– University of New Hampshire, USA

2

Copper Alloy Netting

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

a DeC

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Fiel

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ain

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• Remaines naturally clean maintaining

maximum water exchange

• Reduced impact from pathogens and

parasites

bpresent study.

c Tsukrov et al., “Experimental Studies and Numerical Modeling of Copper Nets in

Marine Environments”, OMAE2011-49761, Proceedings of the 30th International

ASME Conference on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineering, 2011.

• Reduces drag and

maintains cage

volume (Decreased

drag coefficientc)

• Increase of water

exchange rate

• Higher O2 content

in cage

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

dOsienski, M., “Numerical Modeling of Copper Alloy Nets,” Master’s Thesis, expected 2012.

• Volumetric integrity d

0.5 m/s Current

Copper: 8.9% volume reduction

Nylon: 25.7 % volume reduction

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

Volumetric integrity

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

• More secure cage

• Reduced fish escapes and fish loss due to predators or fish biting the netting

(such as sea bream)

• Recyclable

There is an important relation between oxygen content in water and the feeding rate

in fish. Feed intake in a cage environment with less oxygen will be reduced and

consequently the growth performance of fish will be negatively affected. Oxygen

content of the water column is also important in terms of fish stocking rate.

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

Fish Grow-out

Seabass

– 440 days

– Final weight: 180-280 g

– Specific growth rate: 3.5%

– FCR: 1.37

Seabream

– 200 days

– Final weight: 140-150 g

– Specific growth rate: 3.5%

– FCR: 1.4

Cage assessment/Net chamber integrity

•Woven Mesh

– Measureable material loss observed

(wire diameter)

– “holes” in net observed

•Chain Link Mesh

– No Measureable material loss observed

(wire diameter)

– No “holes” in net found

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

Fish health / growth comparable to nylon net cage culture

Challenges in using copper alloy nets in aquaculture:

• Increased system mass

3.67 kg/m2 vs 0.35 kg/m2

2.5 mm twine diameter, 25 mm mesh opening

• Increased inertial forces within system (mooring

dependant)

• Proper net attachment methodology

• Ideally, the net is in tension

• Dissimilar metals

• Corrosion

Copper Alloy Netting

• 1 km off coast of Canakkale, Turkey

– Dardanelles, near mouth of Aegean Sea

– 250 m x 250 m

– 46 m depth

• Infrastructure

– University facilities

• Pier

• Hatchery

– Port of Canakkale

• Cranes, forklifts, etc

9

Current

Waves

1 km

University Waterfront Facilities

Research Site

Mooring System

• Submerged grid

• 4-bay design

• 20 m x 20 m bays

• Mooring equipment have been sized using UNH numerical modeling software Aqua-FE

• 4 m, 6 sec waves

• 2 knot current

10

Mooring System - Deployment

Fish Cages

• Surface gravity design

– Octagonal shape

– Standard brackets / pipe sizes

• Dimensions

– 6 meter diameter

– 5 meters deep

– 150 m3 volume

• Modified for net attachment

Net Meshes

• Woven Mesh

– 13 mm x 18 mm opening

– 2.5 mm wire diameter

– Total mass ≈ 750kg (1650lb)

• Chain Link Mesh

– 30 mm opening

– 2.5 mm wire diameter

– Total mass ≈ 500kg (1100lb)

Deployment and Fish Stocking

Both systems deployed Summer 2011

•Fish stocking

– Seabass (D. labrax) stocked in cage 1

– Nursery net had to be installed

– 2 g initial weight

– 10 kg/m3 stocking density at harvest

Deployment and Fish Stocking

• Fish stocking

– G. Seabream and A. Seabream (S.aurata, P.

acarne) stocked into cage 2.

– Nursery net had to be installed

– 40 g initial weight

– 10 kg/m3 stocking density at harvest

• Cage assessment / Net chamber integrity

– Rigid cage structure

• Larger cage diameters would be ideal

– No marine growth observed

– Hydrozoa settling onto the mesh

• Easily pulled off by divers

• Monitoring to see if these have a

resistance or if started on debris or

equivalent

• Mussel growth is indirectly attached

through the Hydrozoa

• Water quality monitoring

– Measured upstream, downstream and

inside the net pens

Cage Condition and Biofouling

Biofouling on the mooring system

•Metal accumulation in fish tissues

-Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer, Computational Program (Shimadzu, AA-6300)

-Fish body proximate composition

-Body indexes of gilthead seabream and auxillary seabream (VSI, HSI, MFI, SSI).

-Zn, Mn, Cu and Fe concentrations in Fish liver, skin, muscle tissue and gills in Gilthead seabream and Auxillary seabream in copper alloy net cage for 2 years.

Bioassay - Laboratory Analyses

Results for Bioassay,Metal Accumulation in Fish

Tissues

Upper Limits for Human Consumption

Upper limit for Zn: 50 mg/kg

Upper level for Cu: 20 mg/kg(Official Journal of Turkish Republic, 2002).

Findings

Within Safe Limits.

Zn and Cu levels in the presentstudy recorded for fish incopper alloy net cage arebelow the upper limits forhuman consumption levels.

CONCLUSION

• Overall, copper-alloy net material has demonstrated good performance in

terms of its suitability for use in Aquaculture.

• During the course of the study,

- very limited biofouling was recorded and

- very limited net deformation was observed on the copper-alloy net

material,

• Observation of fish growth or for Bioassay (Cu accumulation on fish tissues)

- Encouraging results,

- Metal accumulation in fish tissues are within safe limits.

a promising alternative net material for the sustainability of

cage aquaculture industry.

ありがとうございますQuestions?

• International Copper Association, USA

• Wieland-Werke, Germany

• Luvata Appleton, USA

• Cambridge Architectural, USA

• Port of Canakkale, Turkey

• Kılıç Deniz, Feed Company, Turkey

• Akuakare Aquaculture Equipment Ltd., Turkey

• COMU - Graduate Students

Acknowledgements

50

52

53

54

55

57

• Fish health / growth comparable to nylon net cage culture f

f Chambers et al., “Effects of Biofouling on Comparative Growth and Survival of Juvenile Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Cultured in Ocean Pens.” World Aquaculture Society Conference: Aquaculture 2010, San Diego, CA. March 1-5, 2010.

Nylon Net – Whole cod Copper Net – Whole cod

Ash 2.37% Ash 3.17%

Copper 1.35 ppm Copper 2.14 ppm

Nylon Net - Liver Copper Net - Liver

Ash 0.44% Ash 0.53%

Copper 6.35 ppm Copper 5.67 ppm

Copper Alloy Netting

Benefits of copper alloy in Aquaculture:

Types of copper alloy mesh

UR 30TM

chain link mesh, 2.5 mm 65/35 Cu-Zn

Expanded strip 74% open area, 1mm thick 90/10 Cu-Ni

SeawireTM

welded mesh, 1.5mm welded Cu-Si

UR30 brass

– UR30 is a recycled copper alloy

– About 65% copper / 35% zinc

– Additional trace elements for corrosion resistance, wear resistance, and strength

– Engineered for aquaculture

– Typical Installation

• 4.0mm wire

• 40mm mesh opening

Mitsubishi Materials searched for an antifouling copper-based material that would be suitable for use in marine aquaculture