Irish salmon farmer uses bubbles to block plankton problems
An Irish salmon farmer has joined a growing list of companies using bubble curtain technology supplied by Chilean consortium LOW O2 and PSP Solutions.
Bradan Beo Teoranta, which is part-owned by the Irish government, produces around 2,500 tonnes of organic salmon annually in Cill Chiarain Bay, Connemara, west Galway.
LOW O2/PSP Solutions said the project consisted of a submerged system of laminar flow microbubble barriers, specially designed for a site with 10 x 90-metre circumference circular pens.
The system was installed at a depth of 13.7 metres, due to site depth restrictions, and was designed to impede the passage of zooplankton and phytoplankton, such as jellyfish, micro jellyfish, and algal blooms, among others.
It is the second bubble curtain that the companies have delivered in Ireland.
“We are very happy because this second project in Ireland joins those recently delivered in Canada, Saudi Arabia (for a desalination plant), and northern Chile. The confidence that we are seeing in our clients in various countries supports us as world leaders in microbubble barrier systems and deep-water aeration,” said LOW O2 general manager Luis Sepúlveda.
He said the project was specially developed, together with a strategic ally in Ireland, for the specific conditions of the Irish Sea, which are very different from those of Chilean salmon farming sites.
Different variables
“We had to consider different variables such as type of pens, anchorages, vessel traffic, currents, tides, depths, waves and temperatures, among other conditions,” Sepúlveda explained in a press release.
The consortium has now carried out more than 200 developments in Chile, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the Middle East, in the salmon and desalination industries.
“Currently, we are working hard to continue offering our systems in different countries and various industries that carry out their operations at sea. In addition, we have signed agreements with different universities and institutes to continue innovating and improving the efficiency of our systems,” said Sepúlveda.
