Fish handling systems developer Cflow Fish Handling AS is launching its new Flowline concept, a solution optimized for the safe and gentle transport of live fish.
Developed in close cooperation with Astorplast AS in Fosnavåg, Germany, Flowline has been informed by many perspectives, Cflow CMO Gunnar Hoff said in a press release.
"We chose an interdisciplinary approach to the development process with our focus being on increased fish welfare," Hoff said. "Experts from Norwegian wellboat companies, biologists, and suppliers of cleaning systems have all contributed to the fine-tuning of all functions. Together, we have developed Flowline, a forward-looking concept that will both simplify and improve fish handling."
Cflow Senior Engineer Tor Andre Rønning said the company’s decades of experience in fish handling also played a key role in creating Flowline.
"After more than 30 years' experience in fish handling, Cflow has developed a design philosophy based on prioritizing the main functions of the fish handling system. This means reducing bends, valves, lifting height, and piping to a minimum on the more frequently used routes," Rønning said. "The current modern fish handling systems, both on land and at sea, have strict requirements for flexibility and options. Cflow's new Flowline concept naturally meets both these requirements and those for gentleness."
The concept includes a new valve with four outlets, Rønning said, which aids in flexibility.
"Four of these Flowline [five] valves can do the same job as 16 three-way valves on a wellboat with the same function," Rønning said. "Similarly, this valve will also simplify fish handling in land-based fish farms."
The world’s largest wellboat, Gåsø Høvding, which was commission by Frøy Rederi and is being built at the Turkish Sefine Shipyard, will be equipped with Flowline valves, Cflow said.
"We are very happy with the development and the functions of the new pipe system," Einride Wingan of Frøy Rederi said. "We are very much looking forward to starting to use this system."
Cflow set out to “find a type of plastic with better features than those used on similar valves today” for the Flowline solution, according to company biologist Birgitte Refsnes.
"For Flowline, we have chosen a type of plastic that is stronger and more solid than the typical PE or PUR. This can handle greater tension and strain. An important focus in the development process has been to achieve the smoothest possible internal transitions,” Refsnes said.
Headquartered in Langevåg, outside Ålesund, Norway, Cflow supplies fish handling systems for the fishery and aquaculture industry.
Photo courtesy of Cflow
