| Increase in fish farming relieves burden on the ocean’s resources
The aquaculture industry is expanding. Fish consumption is rising, fuelled by the much-publicized health benefits of fish. However, consumers are not just demanding more seafood, they want more consumer-friendly products – cuts, portions and dishes that are quick and easy to prepare. Fish farming is emerging as an increas-ingly efficient way of meeting these demands by enabling a consistent, predictable and uniform supply of seafood products. Across Europe, Linde is helping fish farmers to maximize production efficiencies and reduce the environmental impact of fish farming.
Fish or farm?
Fish farming offers a number of benefits over traditional fishing techniques. Sophisticated technologies allow fish farmers to comply with stringent health, purity and safety regulations. Not only do aquaculture farms dramatically reduce production and labor costs, they also enable a steady supply of fish in the quantity and quality demanded by the market. Farm seafood prod-ucts are generally uniform in size and quality, making them ideal for consumer-friendly processing and marketing. Perhaps one of the biggest advantages of fish farming, however, is that it ensures a steady food supply without depleting the ocean’s natural resources.
The role of technology
Fish farming does not come without its own environmental challenges. Many of these can be met, however, through sophisticated process technologies and industrial gases. Linde Gas works closely with its fish-farming customers across Europe to maximize the effectiveness of water treatment and recycling systems on fish farms.
The home of the closed circuit
In France, for example, increasingly strict legislation forced some large plants to close due to unacceptably high ammonia output. In 1992, Linde helped a French fish farmer build the first closed-circuit plant in Europe. Not only do closed circuits minimize environmental impact and water consumption, they also allow the farmer to improve feeding habits and increase production capacity by enabling tighter control over breeding conditions (such as temperature and oxygen content). Linde custom-developed a special oxygen monitoring and delivery system, enabling fish farmers to maximize return on their investment in industrial gases.
Strong consumer focus
In Italy, the market is shaped by stiff competition from countries such as Greece and Turkey. Linde’s R&D service works closely with local breeders and fish-farming associations to explore ways of increasing production efficiencies. To meet rising consumer demands for convenience, many farmers have formed cooperatives where the fish is marketed as ready-made specialties.
The pioneers
Or take Norway, a country traditionally positioned at the forefront of fish-farming innovations. Here also, there is a growing interest in moving fish farming out of the fjords and on to the shore to combat rising ammonia levels. Due to the abundant supply of fresh and sea water in Norway, the emphasis is on treating waste water with oxygen and microbiological filters rather than on closed circuits. Focusing on the overall breeding tank environment, Linde Gas has developed a number of efficiency-enabling oxygenation systems that allow farms to cut oxygen needs by as much as 75 %.
To ensure that it continues to offer its fish-farming customers the very latest technologies and solutions, Linde Gas is in the process of opening a dedicated test and research center in Norway. The experts working at the center will liaise directly with the market development team for food at company headquarters. Linde Gas is the only gas company worldwide to set up a proof-of-concept center such as this.
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