HOOD CANAL MARICULTURE INC — Department of Agriculture SBIR Phase I: 8.699999999999999

Description

Paradigm Shift Technology for Scalable High-Density High-Yield Commercial Multi-SpeciesMariculturePROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT: Farm efficiency and commercial competitiveness formulti-species mariculture will be meaningfully enhanced through successful completion anddeployment of novel technology that Hood Canal Mariculture (HCM) is proposing to researchdevelop and ultimately deploy at scale.In addition to improvements in production efficienciesand creation of a significant marketing advantage the technology base once developed can leadto the capability to franchise to other farmers and create a drive towards more sustainable andcommercially viable broad-based mariculture in the United States.HCM is proposing to developa novel semi-rigid growing support framework that will replace and ultimately eliminateconventional plastic line in the farm's marine environment.The macro-algae (seaweed includingkelp) growing support system will have the capability to easily accommodate structures forshellfish and other aquaculture species with potential for significant improvements in efficiency.The approach would allow marine biofouling cleaning to occur with just high-pressure/high- temperature steam and be able to return the cleaning effluent directly back to a marineenvironment with no harmful entrained micro-plastics.The semi-rigid structure eliminatesflexible "plastic" (e.g. polypropylene dacron etc.) rope in the farm system and can be designedso that marine mammal entanglement is physically impossible.Longevity is improved by anorder of magnitude resulting in lower operating and maintenance costs.The semi-rigid structurewill be manufactured from recycled high-performance structural carbon fiber materials that haveexceptional fatigue properties and can achieve initial cost parity to high-performance poly-ropesuch as Spectra® and Dyneema®.Similar materials have been developed and are in use in theoff-shore oil and gas exploration and production systems in yacht rigging and in marine- environment cable-stayed bridges thus providing a basis for our confidence in achieving theultimate goals of this project.The project team is led by a successful small-business currently inaquaculture production and supported by their highly-skilled partners in materialsmanufacturing aquaculture research and species selection and growth optimization.The projecthas a 10-acre sea-bed lease on which to test new systems alongside existing commercial state-of- the-art systems.This will provide USDA with solid scientific data and to enable regulatorsother farmers and interested entities to evaluate the efficacy of this approach. Anticipated resultswill be an evaluation and determination of the viability of multi-species growth and farming on asemi-rigid lattice of recycled carbon composite cables including:1. Comparison of ease of seeding and harvesting with data on labor and machinery efficiency;2. Comparison of the required marine biofouling cleansing with data on cost-effectiveness ofhigh-pressure steam cleaning versus mechanical/chemical poly-rope cleaning;3. Research into designs for farm systems automation and cost analysis of automating a semi- rigid system versus a highly flexible support system;4. Research into farm systems manufacturing and capability to achieve rapid deployment ofscaled systems in a turn-key solutions business model; and5. Research on using the new system with multiple species farming and estimation of the limitson applicable species and recommendations for preferred speciesThe commercial potential if fully realized could impact all aquaculture farms as we drive toreduce and eventually eliminate plastics introduced via marine farming systems.In 5 years weanticipate having 25 large-scale farms deploying this system in the US.