Page 44: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2020)

Offshore Fish Farming cies and market conditions. unit of such a project would probably be around 2-3 years

At present we are spinning off our offshore aquaculture team alongside many other activities.

of around 15 people into a newly set-up company, Pan Ocean

Aquaculture (POA), that will handle all commercial, market- We understand that this was a world ? rst “installed at an open ocean location ing and R&D work and is based in The Netherlands. De Maas exposed to tropical storms.” Were will continue to provide the construction and delivery of SSFF other locations considered, and more units and take care of our projects for other industries. importantly, why was this location

Please provide a detailed timeline for deemed most desirable.

the project, from initial contract through

The location is primarily determined by the species and ? nal installation.

farming strategy. Environmental conditions dictate whether a

The ? rst project was a prototype and for us only covered a certain species will show good growth curves in a certain area. part of a total offshore aquaculture development; it is not a Once a selection has been made it becomes a matter of gov- typical example. Generally, for the projects we’re currently ernment approval and you go through similar hoops as for any handling, from start of application of an offshore farming li- offshore activity in order to obtain permits. Every country has cense until ? rst harvest would take about 4 to 5 years. A range different arrangements and requirements so this preparatory of factors such as government regulations, existing onshore phase can be quite time consuming as you also have to verify infrastructure and characteristics of species impact this dura- in principle whether the unit can be tailored for the location. tion. Although obviously not insigni? cant, the offshore unit is The SSFF has been designed such that is can be installed in but one part of a suite of arrangements that have to be in place the widest range possible and accommodate also for a wide to get to a ? rst harvest. Purely the EPCI part of the offshore range of species. This was one of our boundary conditions

All images courtesy of De Maas 44 November/December 2020

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