Aquaculture & Marine Engineering

COPPER ALLOY MESH FOR AQUACULTURE & MARINE ENVIRONMENTS

Due to its unique properties Copper Alloy Mesh offers unparalleled advantages in marine aquaculture.

The natural suppression of biofouling and its strength offer advances in fish performance while reducing operating costs. Copper Alloy Mesh also reduces potential environmental impacts and offers a lower CO2 footprint, making Copper Alloy Mesh the future of sustainable fish farming.

The Marine Mesh Series combines cutting edge copper alloy technology with more than 80 years of innovation in engineering and wire processing by Mesh Industries Group.

Precision manufactured on in-house developed specialised equipment and featuring our patented M-Lokk double knuckle technology our copper alloy mesh is the strongest and lightest available in the market

BENEFITS OF THE MARINE MESH SERIES IN AQUACULTURE

Copper Alloy Mesh for improved fish performance

Copper has been known for centuries as a natural inhibitor of biofouling in marine environments. Our wire supplier pioneered the development of a specific copper alloy wire for aquaculture that deliver exceptional biofouling performance throughout the life of the mesh.

With biofouling minimised, the best possible growing conditions can be maintained to reduce fish stress and disease by:

Improving dissolved oxygen content through improved water flow.
Minimising disruption through significantly reduced cleaning and maintenance activity.
Preventing crowding in strong currents by maintaining a stable volume.
Decreasing the habitat for parasites, disease organisms and precursors to disease such as hydroids.

Fish grown in these conditions are healthier, less stressed and have lower exposure to disease which encourages improvements in growth rates and reductions in mortality.

Copper Alloy Mesh reduces cost and improves cashflow

Studies and farm analyses show a reduction in operating costs when using copper alloy mesh nets. Specifically, the inhibition of biofouling impacts these operating costs and investments in equipment:

Significant reduction in cleaning costs – predator nets can be eliminated and cleaning frequency is reduced by 70-85% .
Nets and mooring systems require less maintenance – associated fuel consumption, labour costs and maintenance of boats, barges and cleaning equipment are reduced.
Investment in net cleaners and other cleaning equipment can be reduced.
Improved fish health can lead to opportunities for feed cost reduction and reduced bathing and other treatments.
Copper Alloy Mesh has a usage life of up to 10 years and can be recycled.

SUSTAINABLE FISH FARMING WITH COPPER ALLOY AQUACULTURE NETTING

Sustainable fish farming is more than replacing wild caught with farmed fish. Increasingly consumers are demanding that farms are operated sustainably, minimising local environmental impacts and tackling wider climate impacts. Copper alloy mesh has a central role to play in achieving these goals.

Local Environmental Impact

The conditions for improved fish health from farming with Copper Alloy Mesh also improve the environment the farm is located in. By reducing biofouling and cleaning frequency, cleaning discharges to the local environment are reduced by 70-85% as well.

Healthier fish stock need less feed to grow at the same rate reducing feed waste and nitrogen emissions, and they need fewer treatments and antibiotics with associated benefits to consumers and the environment they are grown in.

Copper Alloy Mesh is a key enabler in locating farms away from coastal environments to less environmentally sensitive high energy and open ocean sites. It’s strength and rigidity will withstand the forces it’s exposed to and its strong enough to maintain excellent volume in heavy seas and currents.

In addition, with lower cleaning and maintenance requirements, copper alloy mesh nets are ideally suited to sites where access for prolonged work periods may not be safe or is only intermittent.

Climate Change Impacts

When used in aquaculture and marine farming, farm systems incorporating Copper Alloy Mesh reduce CO2 emissions and have lower cumulative energy demand compared to traditional materials.

These climate change gains are driven by lower fossil fuel consumption during operations, and the farm infrastructure uses less materials and the materials used have lower CO2 emissions in their production.

A 2015 life cycle impact assessment study PDF found a 49% reduction in CO2 emissions and 52% reduction in cumulative energy demand when using Copper Alloy Mesh. Read the full article here.