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Keeping
an Eye on the Cage |
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"Cage
Cam" Leads OAC Innovations
Taking
open ocean aquaculture to the next level, the Offshore
Aquaculture Consortium (OAC) has begun broadcasting live
images of their aquaculture cage using a remote camera set
up 22 miles off the coast of Mississippi. |
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The
camera, dubbed the "Cage Cam," operates 24/7 from a Chevron
USA gas platform adjacent to the aquaculture cage site and
broadcasts real-time images over the Internet. It can be
viewed from
http://www-org.usm.edu/~ooa/index.htm
"We needed a reliable method of monitoring not only the cage
and mooring system, but also the sea and weather
conditions," says Chris Bridger, OAC Project Coordinator.
"The camera will also allow us to remotely monitor the
automatic feed system, and the boat traffic around the
site."
Though the image right now might compare to watching fish in
an aquarium, plans for viewing improvements are planned in
the future. "The size and sharpness of the cage and mooring
system images will improve as we become more accustomed to
the system and make some adjustments to the web page it
appears on," says Bridger. "Then it will be a lot more
interesting and useful in our public education and outreach
efforts that are under development."
The cage itself is the furthest offshore aquaculture cage in
the world. It is located 22 miles south of Pascagoula, MS in
78 feet of water. It took almost a year to acquire all the
necessary permits to grow fish in that location.
Researchers at MIT have designed and constructed an
automatic feeding system (Robo Feeder) attached to the top
of the cage that will be used to feed the fish using a timer
and pneumatic dispenser. The storage compartment holds
approximately 500 pounds of fish pellets. The University of
New Hampshire has the only other aquaculture project using a
similar setup.
Future plans
call for the Robo Feeder to be able to operate when
completely submerged, and to dispense fish food by remote
command from an onshore computer.
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