In an effort to reduce waste, pollution and fuel use from floating fish farms, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and open-ocean aquaculture company Snapperfarm are testing a new fish cage in waters off Puerto Rico.
The self-propelled spherical fish cage, made by Ocean Farm Technologies, is about 60 feet wide and is designed to migrate from place to place using slow-moving propellers.
Members of MIT's Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center told Business Week that future cages would be tied to floating platforms bearing lights, positional sensors and monitoring gear - all powered by wave motion or solar cells. For example, the cages would be stocked with baby fish and launched from Panama, the farm would follow the Gulf Stream and arrive months later near Miami when the fish are ready to harvest.
