Aquaculture Predator Protection System

Improving the yield of your fishery 

The aquaculture industry is proliferating throughout the world. In some areas, the economic output of aquaculture or fish farming exceeds that of wild or capture fisheries. Pinnipeds (mainly sea lions and seals) and other predatory mammals are causing significant economic losses to the industry; with predatory feeding or damage to stock and equipment occurring in aquaculture facilities all over the world.

These losses include damage to the fish population itself through: outright killing of the fish, reduced value due to injured fish, increased disease susceptibility caused by descaling or other damage, and reduced growth rates due to increased stress.  The aquaculture industry suffers additional economic losses from pinniped damage to the fish pens themselves including: increased maintenance and repair costs, loss of fish through holes in the damaged pens, genetic contamination of the fish stock, and diseases transmitted directly between the farmed and indigenous fish populations.

The HAI Aquaculture Predator Protection System (APPS) generates a low frequency, broadband, impulsive acoustic signal that deters pinnipeds and other mammals from predatory feeding or damaging activity within aquaculture facilities. The APPS is powered with compressed air that is safe, inexpensive, and non-polluting.  No dangerous explosives are used or stored.  The anti-predatory acoustic effect of the APPS can be varied by changing the air pressure or the chamber volume of the system.  The reusable APPS is capable of rapid, repeatable firing, up to sixty times per minute.  The in-water component of the mobile APPS is deployed over the side of a boat, dock, or other structure before it is armed, thereby reducing the hazard to the operator.

The HAI APPS comes in either portable or permanent installation configurations and can be customized to the needs of individual aquaculture operators.

Portable System

The portable APPS may be used on a small boat bringing pinniped defense to the point of animal intrusion. This works well in aquaculture environments that are manned 24 hours a day. The boat operator simply drives near the pinnipeds, deploys the air gun to the desired depth, turns on the high pressure air bottles, and toggles the Mobile Controller power switch on.  The operator can then fire the air gun approximately once per second.

Permanent System

The air guns are permanently fixed to the fishery structure at a specified depth and supplied with high pressure air from umbilical hoses. The APPS is fired by an operator at a control station at the fishery. The operator can choose which guns to fire, how frequently to fire, and how many times to fire. The system can also be set to fire randomly.  A random firing pattern greatly reduces the possibility of the pinniped becoming accustomed or habituated to the acoustic impulse.

Aquaculture Predator Protection System Features

• Non polluting as only compressed air is put into the water
• Highly reliable and low maintenance: 300,000 shots between maintenance, 1,000,000 shot life
• The APPS is not consumed with each use as are explosives or plasma devices
• Selective zone firing by operator, shot patterns can be varied so learning by predators is difficult
• Intensity and rate of shots are operator controllable 
• Operates effectively in shallow water environments where seals or sea lions (pinnipeds) are likely to occur as APPS does not cavitate 
• System is highly customizable for your Fish Farm where ever its located.
• Protects workers safety as no explosives are used

Aquaculture Predator Protection System Specification Sheet

Aquaculture Predator Protection System Specification Sheet (Español)

Aquaculture Predator Protection System White Paper