| Provoked
by over-fishing and by an increased focus by consumers on high-quality,
safe and nutritious food, the demand for sustainable and highly
competitive aquaculture systems is growing rapidly. Because
the production line from egg to marketable product involves
many separate steps, a wide range of technological and biological
factors determines the success of the industry. A healthy high-quality
end product can only be obtained by optimising each step, which
requires advance in many different fields of science and technology.
The overall
objective of the design study is therefore to provide the
fundaments for a unique full-scale sea-based European Aquaculture
Centre of Technology (ACT), where aquaculture stakeholders
will be strongly involved both in the planning and the use
of the infrastructure.
|
|
The
focus areas of the new infrastructure will be the development
of more competitive and cost-efficient production technologies
for use in aquaculture processes ranging from ongrowing at sea
to slaughtering. These require technological solutions such
as floating constructions, feeding instruments, manoeuvring
operations, handling and transport procedures and systems for
environmental monitoring.
The facilities
to be offered at the European ACT will be complementary to
the existing aquaculture infrastructures.
Its independent
role in the development and testing of new technology offers
the seafood producers and alternative to the commercial marked.
|
