A single tear in an aquaculture fish pen can have massive financial and environmental impacts.
A single failure in such a net can potentially lead to the loss of hundreds of thousands of fish, impacting the sustainability and preservation of marine ecosystems.
It can also be hugely expensive for the operators of these aquacultures, with the current methods for repair relying on human divers.
These divers are not cheap, and it can cost up to $5,500 per day for a four-person diving team.
Tasmanian-based Southern Ocean Subsea has developed a solution to this problem using a cutting-edge robot that can quickly fix netting and continuously repair it to avoid a failure in the first place.
The APAMA Net Repairer System is a remotely-operated underwater vehicle that can be deployed to quickly repair or reinforce any net to a depth of 200 metres.
It can operate on an aquaculture farming site 24-7 and also proactively inspect nets to detect potential failures in the future, avoiding more expensive repairs.
The APAMA Net Repairer can repair a hole in a net of any size, and has a high-level of manoeuvrability thanks to its eight thrusters and six degrees of freedom.
Southern Ocean Subsea’s APAMA Net Repairer System is a finalist in the InnovationAus 2024 Award for Excellence in Food and Agritech. The InnovationAus Awards for Excellence winners and finalists will be celebrated at a black-tie gala dinner at The Venue Alexandria in Sydney on Wednesday October 30. You can book your tickets here.
Southern Ocean Subsea managing director Andrew Ford founded a commercial diving services company in 2000 which provided remotely operated vehicles to Australian oil and gas companies. He has two decades of experience working in the offshore oil and gas industry, and 30 years of experience in the commercial diving industry.
The initial designs for the underwater repairer were proposed and conceptualised in 2021, with a major gap in the aquaculture market identified.
The first prototype of the vehicle was unveiled in 2023, with a final version completed this year.
The aquaculture industry is worth an estimated $273 billion globally, with Norway accounting for about 40 percent of the market thanks to about 2000 individual farms producing a total of about 11,500 tons of fish per day.
Southern Ocean Subsea recently opened a new manufacturing hub in Carrums Downs in Victoria, boasting a number of high-tech machines including a deepsea hydrostatic pressure testing vessel.
The company also worked with the Australian Antarctic Division to provide a purpose-built, specialised Antarctic Explorer remotely operated vehicle capable of fitting down a 40cm hole in the sea ice.
The company’s creation provided a lower-cost and more effective alternative to using a whole team of divers to conduct this form of scientific research, and assisted in gathering data that has proved to be instrumental in environmental assessments and impact statements for the proposed creation of a new runway near the Davis Research Station.
Looking for brand exposure in front of Australia’s tech ecosystem? Purchase a table of 10 for the InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence and have your logo displayed on screens across the venue and in the event programme as a table sponsor.
The InnovationAus 2024 Awards for Excellence are supported by: Australian Computer Society, Investment NSW, Department of Industry, Science and Resources, Technology Council of Australia, TechnologyOne, National Artificial Intelligence Centre, CSIRO’s ON Innovation Program, Reason Group, Q-CTRL, University of New South Wales, and IP Australia.
Protecting your great ideas with intellectual property (IP) rights can lead to lasting benefits for your growing business. IP refers to creations of the mind, such as a brand, logo, invention, design or artistic work. Head to the IP Australia website to find out more about IP, and how it might help your business.
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