Deep Water Mussel Aquaculture Development (Phase II)

Summary:
Phase I of this project showed great promise. Norlantic was able to submerge mussel lines at depth to avoid the perils of the sea conditions associated with the winter and spring months in the North Atlantic. Norlantic grew, submerged, and raised mussel lines in a site that posed great challenges with respect to the natural environment conditions of the site. Phase II was a step toward early commercialization of the deep water site and there were a number of infrastructure and capital investment obstacles that had to be overcome. During the winter of 2009 within a couple of weeks of submerging the mussel lines, during a line monitoring trip, Norlantic noticed that all lines had sunk to the bottom. They were initially unable to retrieve the lines due to bad weather and then poor ice conditions. This hampered their attempts to determine what had gone wrong and all they could do during the winter was speculate on the cause. However, in late spring upon retrieval of the first line it became obvious that for some reason the flotation had failed causing the entire line to sink to the bottom. For the submerging of lines in the future, it will be necessary to devise a better alternative and floats constructed of a more flexible material might be the solution. However, no work has been done on this type of float and in depth investigation required.

The work platform was an integral component of this project. With its modifications and specialized equipment, this platform performed as expected. The job of handling the immense anchors and long lines was possible with this newly modified and well equipped vessel. The addition of foam flotation to the under deck and bow thrusters made operating a vessel under such harsh environmental conditions much safer. Without these modifications and additional equipment, operating a deep water site in an exposed setting would be next to impossible.

Project Lead: Norlantic Processors Ltd.

Total Project Cost: $478,590
           
DFO-AIMAP Contribution: $221,090

Other Financial Support:

• Proponent: Norlantic Processors Ltd.
• Government of Newfoundland & Labrador

For more information, please contact the regional coordinator:
Newfoundland Region coordinator, Chris.Hendry@dfo-mpo.gc.ca