Ocean Farm net pens used in Korea, Mexico

Ocean Farm Technologies (OFT) on Thursday announced its Aquapod submersible net pens are being used in two new offshore aquaculture operations.

Okwang Fisheries Union in South Korea will raise Pacific cod in waters off Korea, while Pesquera Delly in Sonora, Mexico, will use the Aquapod pens to raise shrimp in the Sea of Cortez.

Composed of hundreds of individual triangular panels made of recycled polyethylene that are covered with steel wire mesh and joined together to form a geodesic sphere, the Aquapod's structure is designed for use in high-energy, open ocean sites.  

The recently deployed Aquapods each have a volume of 957,000 gallons and a diameter of 64 feet and are located several kilometers from shore in waters around 192 feet deep. Submerging Aquapods to deep, calm waters protects them from hurricanes and typhoons that can destroy traditional floating net pens, as well as protecting against predators, which can breach conventional nets but are prevented by the steel wire mesh.

OFT anticipates expansion by its customers and the emergence of additional offshore aquaculture operations in both regions. Pesquera Delly has already placed an order for two more Aquapods that will be delivered to Mexico later this summer.

Founded in 2005, the Maine-based Ocean Farm Technologies has deployed Aquapods in Panama and in the United States in Puerto Rico, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine.

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