Many fish farms are based in the open sea, increasingly far from the shore. Under these conditions, the nets undergo significant strain related to wind and marine currents, increasing the risks of breakage.
Since the consequences of such breakage can amount to hundreds of thousands of euros, SCAIME was commissioned by a major aquaculture operator to design a net monitoring solution.
To meet this need, we developed a new force sensor using fibre-optic Bragg grating technology. Combined with an MDX400 acquisition unit, this system continuously controls the tension exerted on the net attachments.
The first system was installed off the coast of Norway and measures in real time the strain exerted on the net, in order to alert the operator in the event of overload.
In this application, the benefits of fibre-optic measurement technology are decisive:
