Animal husbandry – Aquatic animal culturing – Fish culturing
Patent
1994-10-18
1996-08-27
Manahan, Todd E.
Animal husbandry
Aquatic animal culturing
Fish culturing
A01K 6302
Patent
active
055490760
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to fish rearing units, particulary a device according to the introductory part of patent.
Rearing fish in rearing units located in the ocean can be subject to undesirable changes in the environment, such as the flourishing of algae or jellyfish, and oil spillage. These occurances have shown to be an expensive problem for the rearing trade. So far fish farmers have in such cases had two options for preserving the value of the fish in the rearing plant:
1) slaughtering of the fish stock,
2) relocating the plant in a different area.
Both theses methods have been unsatisfactory for the fish farmer due to the large economic losses incurred. On the market today, there are closed PVC-rearing units where the water is pumped up from deeper layers. These units utilize the principle of transporting clean water up to the fish, and keep it separated from the environment, using a unit with a closed PVC-cloth.
There are also other known solutions where the rearing unit is lowered, with the floating ring/cage using air-filled, closed rooms in the floating ring. This is stated in NO patent publication 150,741, GB patent publication 2,008,912, DE patent publication 2.713.268, SE patent publication 458,088. Common to all these publications are the feature that both the rearing unit and floating ring should be lowered. The fish farmers thus cannot use existing investments in traditional rearing plants.
In order to hinder the spread of oil spillage, there exist oil bilges which suck up the oil, however, this is too expensive to have on each plant. The oil bilge does not suck up all surface oil. There will thus always be a thin film left on the sea surface, and this film is pollutive for fish Dumping at the surface. Furthermore, the effect of the oil bilge will be less if there are waves higher than 2-3 m.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
There is a need for a device which can be a part of each rearing plant's preparedness for restricting losses due to flourishing of algae/jellyfish or oil spillage. This equipment demands two persons per rearing unit for assembling. The assembly can be done in 1-2 hours. This lowerable rearing unit equipment, in addition to the monitoring system which is located to monitor the flourishing of algae and oil spillage, may be saving a lot of plants from great losses due to damage from flourishing algae/jellyfish or oil spillage. So far, it has only been possible to alert fish farmers to the flourishing algae, without the fish farmer being able to take the necessary steps to save the fish.
By utilizing the present invention, fish farmers may use existing investments in the fish rearing plant, such as floating rings, rearing units and moorings. In addition, the fish farmer does not need to tow the plant away to other locations in the event of at flourishing algae/jellyfish or small oil spillages.
Another factor which means that the fish farmer will not be permitted to move these plants in the future is the great danger for spreading of sicknesses when plants are relocated from one area to another.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide device in rearing units for protecting the fish in the unit against local changes in the environment, without the disadvantages existing in known devices.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The invention will now be described using an example of preferred embodiments, and with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein
FIG. 1 illustrates a first embodiment according to present invention,
FIG. 2a illustrates a second embodiment according to present invention,
FIG. 2b illustrates a detail from the embodiment of FIG. 2a,
FIG. 3a illustrates a first embodiment of a frame for stretching of the rearing unit and the top net, by a device according to present invention,
FIG. 3, 3b and 3c shows details from the embodiment of FIG. 3a,
FIG. 4a illustrates a second embodiment of a frame for stretching a rearing unit and top net, by a device according to present invention,
FIG. 4b shows a detail from
REFERENCES:
patent: 4147130 (1979-04-01), Goguel
patent: 5299530 (1994-04-01), Mukadam et al.
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