Cultivation of Offshore Fishery
Lately there has been news about ‘Cultivation offshore fishery’ and ‘offshore aquaculture’ in media. What does it mean? Cultivation offshore fishery or offshore aquaculture is originally fishery cultivation done in terrible sea weather condition. The definition of offshore has yet to be clarified, hence the interpretations vary. However, it is agreed that offshore is located in a different environment or condition compared to secluded environment like the bay. Offshore can sometimes encounter typhoon and 3 to 11-meter high tidal waves. Can these offshore conditions be suitable for fishery cultivation? Yes, by using the right floating marine cage.
Offshore Submersible Floating Marine Cage by Aquatec
The thickness of the pipe of floating marine cage used in offshore usually has higher density, so that it can withstand bad weather and tidal waves. However, increasing the thickness of the pipe has limited effect. Also, fish cultivated in offshore floating marine cage will have higher mortality rate due to exposure to big tidal waves. Therefore, until now, the only marine cage that is suitable for offshore cultivation is the submersible floating marine cage, which can submerge before the storm comes, and is re-floatable after the storm subsides. While submersible floating marine cage is submerged under water, it is safe from any weather conditions on the water surface, and even from 11-meter high tidal waves. In submerged condition, the fish are also safe from any turmoil caused by tidal waves, hence they have higher survival rate.
PT. Gani Arta Dwitunggal has invented the first Offshore Submersible Floating Marine Cage in Southeast Asia, under the brand Aquatec, which has been proven to withstand storms and tidal waves as high as 11 meter. The technical advantages are: 1) Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage has the fastest submerging and refloating speed in the world. The submersion process only requires 5 minutes, and the refloating process only takes 10 minutes. The submersion process can be left unattended, enabling faster response when storms hit. 2) Unlike the submersible floating marine cage made by Europe who based it on water surface, Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage based their submersion on sea bottom, which makes it more accurate and not affected by the constant changing of flux and reflux, making the position of Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage more stable in the water. 3) Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage retains its shape during submersion and refloating, thus preventing the decrease of space for the fish. The fish can still be cultivated inside Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage during submersion. 4) Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage is easy and fast to assemble without requiring any help from technician with special skills, and the price is economical.
Success in Local and International Market
Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage has been tested 5 times; 4 times in Indonesia, and once in China. The first test was conducted in BBPBL Lampung. The result, the submersible floating marine cage was successfully submerged and refloated within one hour. The second, third and fourth tests were conducted using newer model di Tulamben, Bali. The result, offshore submersible floating marine cage was successfully submerged within 5 minutes, and refloated back up within 10 minutes. The fifth test was conducted in Hainan, China in June 2017. The test was funded by a buyer from China, and the offshore submersible floating marine cage successfully withstood the typhoon in August and September with tidal waves as high as 11 meters. While the floating marine cages from other manufactures were destroyed in Hainan, Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage did not show any sign of damage once refloated back to surface. This is because Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage was protected from the typhoon and 11-meter high waves while being submerged. Seeing this result, the Chinese investors decided to purchase 80 units of Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage in 2018.
Besides avoiding typhoon storms and tidal waves, Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage has other functions. Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage can curb the incoming of red tide or plankton booming (a wave consisting a high level of toxic and oxygen-depleting planktons) by submerging it. Since the depth of red tide and plankton booming is usually less than 2 meters, the fish will be safe inside Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage during submersion. Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage can be refloated after the red tide or plankton booming passes. Also, Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage can prevent theft by submerging the floating marine cage during night time.
Developing Offshore Fishery Cultivation with Aquatec
The export of Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage to Hainan, China, is an acknowledgement from other countries on the quality of our domestic product. Why did China choose Aquatec? It is due to Aquatec’s high quality, high productivity, and economical price. Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage is made of Prime Grade High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), with a minimum lifetime of 30 years. One unit of Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage has a 25-meter diameter, an 8-meter net depth, and a total water volume of 3,300m3. For white snappers with distribution density of 30kg/m3, one unit of Aquatec offshore submersible floating marine cage can harvest 100 tons of white snappers, with selling price of around IDR 7 billion. With such high potential market, let us develop offshore fishery cultivation with Aquatec.
