Study of a Three Point Mooring of an Open Ocean Aquaculture Feed Buoy

Open ocean aquaculture will be important in supplying fish as natural fish stocks decline due to environmental changes and overfishing. However, the technology needs to be developed to provide the equipment and methodology for such offshore operations. The University of New Hampshire has been developing and testing systems in the open Gulf of Maine, and has a number of years experience with a feed buoy moored to a fish cage via a stretch hose and elastic tethers. This configuration has survived the Gulf of Maine currents and waves, and continued to feed fish autonomously. The unique tri-mooring is studied via modeling, and observing the wear and behavior for years. The system is robust and has functioned well over the years and is a good candidate for aquaculture operations.