RU2669304C1 - Construction for growing marine hydrobionts on the shelf and the continental margin - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: fishing and fish breeding.SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the fishing industry, namely, to devices for the commercial reproduction of marine hydrobionts and the formation of biotopes for the habitation and feeding of valuable fish and invertebrate species, and can be used to create farms of mariculture at great depths (50–250 m), in areas with a narrow shelf and steep continental slope. Claimed construction includes a supporting cable fixed in a horizontal position below the photographic layer by bearing submerged buoys,that are connected by anchor cables with bottom anchors and anchors by means of auxiliary cables, and also equipped with end buoys; through the rings, mounted in the supporting cable, vertical supporting cables are passed, equipped with buoys on top, a counterweight from below, and in the middle a locking element; the bio-carrier is attached to the vertical supporting cables above the locking element located on the supporting cable.EFFECT: designed construction is easy to install and operate at great depths (50–250 m), it is resistant to any wave and wind impact, is not affected by floating ice, fouling; besides, it can be used to grow the full spectrum of hydrobionts from algae to fish, id est is universal for the purposes of mariculture.5 cl, 4 dwg

Description

The invention relates to the fishing industry, and in particular to devices for the commercial reproduction of marine aquatic organisms and the formation of biotopes for living and feeding valuable breeds of fish and invertebrates, and can be used to create mariculture farms at great depths (50-250 m), in areas with narrow shelf and steep continental slope.

A known floating platform for aquaculture, which is a collapsible design of frame elements, the lateral surface of which forms windows for placing net cages, and the upper part filled with wooden flooring, serves as platforms for their maintenance (RU patent on ПМ No. 171567, IPC A01K 61/00, published 06.06.2017).

The floating platform does not withstand the wave, wind and ice loads inherent in the open waters of the northern seas and is prone to heavy fouling by algae and other hydrobionts, which degrades the operational properties and makes them expensive to maintain.

A device for growing aquatic organisms is known, which contains a rope system and a crate for growing marine aquatic organisms, held under water by a rope system, while the rope system includes anchor ropes and float ropes. The lower end of each anchor rope is fixed to the bottom using an anchor device, and the upper ends of the anchor ropes are connected to each other and to the lower ends of the float ropes (Patent RU 2334390. IPC A01G 33/00, published on September 27, 2008).

The disadvantages of the known device, declared as a universal installation, include the fact that it is designed for installation and operation in relatively shallow (about 10 m) and protected from storms water areas. In addition, it is quite laborious to operate, as it is prone to fouling and is serviced by divers.

A device for growing mariculture containing a float, a system for holding the device at a given point in the water area, at least one means of attaching cultivated mariculture is known, while the mariculture growing means - collector - is made in the form of a reticulated shell filled with midea spate, fixed at one end a polyamide cable, around which dividing cloths connected in a bundle are wound, on a float. The system for holding the device at a given point in the water area consists of ropes tied at one end to the float and fastened with the other to reinforced concrete anchors (RU patent ПМ No. 158203, IPC A01K 61/00, published on December 20, 2015).

This device is designed specifically for growing mussels in relatively shallow and calm areas of the White Sea. The device is not intended for operation under strong wind and wave loads and for installation at great depths. In addition, it is not suitable for the cultivation of a wide range of aquatic organisms.

The closest technical solution in terms of the number of essential features and the achieved result to the claimed technical solution should include a device for growing invertebrates, containing a fully immersed cable arched system on floats, held at the bottom by end bottom concrete anchors, suspended from a rigid truss with a collector system and cables for growing algae (Patent RU No. 2255468, IPC A01K 61/00, publ. 10.07.2005).

The disadvantage of this cable system is the inconvenience and laboriousness of operation (maintenance and (or) installation by divers) and the limited range of cultivated products - designed for the cultivation of only invertebrates. Due to the fact that a sufficiently massive submerged load-bearing structure is located above the bio-carriers, the layer of the water column suitable for growing invertebrates is very narrow. Moreover, it is not suitable for installation and maintenance in deep water areas (from 50 m and above), typical for the shelf and continental slope, since bio-carriers fixed from below on the rigid structure of the supporting truss can only be serviced (installed - removed) by divers, which in deep-sea plots are unsafe and expensive.

The technical problem posed by this invention is the creation of a structure that is easy to install and operate at great depths (50-250 m), resistant to any wave and wind effects, not affected by floating ice, fouling, and universal for the purpose of mariculture (growing a full spectrum hydrobionts from algae to fish).

The claimed technical problem is solved by the fact that in the known device for growing aquatic organisms, containing cables, buoys, bottom anchors and bio-carrier, according to the invention, the carrier cable is fixed in a horizontal position below the photic layer by carrying submerged buoys, which in turn are connected by anchor cables to the bottom anchors and guy anchors with auxiliary cables, and also equipped with end buoys; through the rings mounted in the supporting cable, vertical supporting cables are passed, equipped with buoys on top, a counterweight load on the bottom, and a locking element in the middle; the biocarrier is attached to the vertical carrier cables above the locking element located on the carrier cable.

Collectors for algae and mollusks, cages of various designs for mollusks, trepang or fish can be used as bio-carriers.

The length of the anchor cables and auxiliary cables to the load-bearing submerged buoys should ensure the placement of the load-bearing horizontal cable and load-bearing submerged buoy deeper than the lower boundary of the photographic layer in the summer. Fastening the load-bearing cable in a horizontal position below the photic layer by load-bearing submerged buoys can significantly slow down the fouling process and completely remove the load-bearing structure from the wave zone and other mechanical influences, which significantly reduces operating costs.

The photic layer is the surface zone of the ocean or any other body of water, into which enough sunlight penetrates to maintain photosynthesis (https://geography_ru.academic.ru/7624/photical_layer), (in Primorye it is an average of 20-30 m) .

In this layer there is only the upper part of the bearing vertical cables of the proposed design, on which the bio-carriers are mounted, since light is necessary for the normal growth and development of most of the grown aquatic organisms.

The connection of load-bearing submerged buoys with anchor cables with bottom anchors and pull-out anchors with the help of auxiliary cables and with each other with a horizontal load-bearing cable ensures stability and tension in the required position of the whole structure, safety (fixing each submerged buoy with three cables).

The addition of load-bearing submerged buoys with end buoys with antennas equipped with navigation equipment ensures the safety of navigation in the installation area of the proposed design, as well as facilitates orientation during their servicing by ships.

Providing the installation with vertical load-bearing cables equipped with buoys at the top, a counterbalance load at the bottom, and a stop element in the middle and passed through rings that are mounted on a horizontal bearing cable, allows the installation to be serviced (removal and installation of bio-carriers) without using divers, from the side of the vessel.

The diameter of the rings on the horizontal bearing cable should be larger than the diameter of the vertical bearing cable, in order to ensure free transmission of the vertical bearing cable, but should not pass the locking element through itself.

The locking element is made in the form of a washer, the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the ring mounted in the supporting cable, and is provided with a hole in the middle through which a bolt is passed, fixed with a nut on the washer, while the bolt head and nut are made in the form of eyes. The proposed design of the locking element provides not only reliable fixation of the upper and lower parts of the vertical support cable to each other, but also facilitates the assembly of the structure before installing it on the bottom and replacing the upper part of the vertical support cable during maintenance.

The inventive design is illustrated by the following drawings.

In Fig.1 presents a General diagram of the device, in Fig. 2 is an example of placing a bio-carrier with laminaria on a vertical support cable, in FIG. 3 - a bio-carrier-collector with planting material of kelp is presented; FIG. 4 - shows a diagram of the locking element.

The proposed design for the cultivation of marine aquatic organisms includes a support cable 1, which is fixed in a horizontal position below the photic layer by load-bearing submerged buoys 2, which in turn are connected by anchor cables 3 to bottom anchors 4 and tie-off anchors 5 using auxiliary cables 6, and are also equipped end buoys 7; through the rings 8 mounted in the support cable 1, vertical support cables 9 are passed, equipped with buoys 10 on top, a counterweight 11 from below, and a stop element 12 in the middle; biocarrier 13 is attached to vertical carrier cables 9; to the end buoys 7 are attached antennas with navigation equipment 14, located above the sea surface. The locking element 12 is made in the form of a washer 15, the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the ring 8 mounted in the carrier cable 1, and is provided with a hole in the middle (not indicated in the drawing) through which a bolt 16 is fastened, fixed on the washer by a nut 17, while the bolt head and the nut is made in the form of eyes, to which the upper and lower parts of the vertical supporting torso 9 are attached. The bio-carrier is attached to the upper part of the vertical supporting cable 9 above the locking element 12.

The inventive device operates as follows.

The design is installed with a crane (a winch with an arrow) with a lifting capacity of up to 3 tons from the side of the vessel without the help of divers (or with minimal help - control) linearly along the selected isobath in the sequence:

1) the initial main bottom anchor 4 with the bearing submerged buoy 2;

2) initial anchor-brace 5;

3) the final bottom anchor 4 with the bearing submerged buoy 2;

4) the final anchor-guy 5.

Moreover, all other structural elements 1.6-17 are already assembled and descend overboard as the anchors sink and the load-bearing horizontal cable 1 is pulled.

Maintenance of the structure and installation and removal of cages and bio-carrier collectors is also carried out without the use of divers, from the side of motor bots and ships equipped with minimal means of mechanization (one winch).

The position of the device during its search is determined, in particular, using GPS or GLONAS navigator, in which the mark with its coordinates is entered during installation of the structure. Orientation at the place of work is carried out by antennas 14 attached to the end buoys 7. Buoys 10 on the vertical bearing cables 9 are visually through the water column, pulled to the side by a hook or rod, 5-6 m long with a flexible and elastic metal loop at the end. Next, the upper part of the cable 9 to the locking element 12 is pulled onto the side of the boat manually or with a winch, and all operations to install collectors and biocarriers 13 with planting material or harvesting are carried on board the vessel. After conducting operations on board, the vertical support cable 9 is dropped overboard, and the device is brought into working condition due to the action of the load-counterweight 11 and the locking element 12.

As an example of using the proposed device, we present a promising design of collectors for growing algae, bio-carrier 13 (Fig. 2):

In this case, the upper part of the vertical support rope 9 is additionally equipped with rings 18 of 5-6 cm diameter fixed in it through 1.5–2 m from durable plastic or metal resistant to corrosion. When installing bio-carriers 13 (Fig. 3), the upper part of the vertical bearing cable 9 is pulled by a winch or manually onto a ship. To the rings 18 with the help of carbines 19 (Fig.3) are attached pre-seeded spores of algae 20 segments of a flexible synthetic cable 21, with zero buoyancy.

A carabiner 19 is woven in the middle of a segment of a cable 21 and provides a quick and reliable fastening of the latter on a vertical support cable 9 during installation or removal of the finished product. The length of the segments of the cable 21 should be selected depending on the type of algae grown, in particular, segments 1.5-2 m long are offered for growing kelp.

Mariculture can be composed of a set of proposed linear structures located along isobaths. The invention will allow farms of mariculture to develop open waters on the shelf and the mainland slope with steep depths and complex soils, which is typical for the coast of Primorye, which does not allow trawling or other traditional types of fishing using ships, as well as the installation of traditional devices for mariculture because great depths, slope, strong wave and wind effects. The proposed cable system does not contain network-like structures that are potentially dangerous for marine mammals and birds, and a linear structure completely submerged to a safe depth, fixed to the bottom on each side with two anchors does not interfere with the navigation of vessels.

Claims (5)

1. Design for the cultivation of marine aquatic organisms, containing cables, buoys, bottom anchors and bio-carrier, characterized in that the carrier cable is fixed in a horizontal position below the photic layer by carrying submerged buoys, which in turn are connected by anchor cables to bottom anchors and tie-off anchors with using auxiliary cables, and also equipped with end buoys; through the rings mounted in the supporting cable, vertical supporting cables are passed, equipped with buoys on top, a counterweight load on the bottom, and a locking element in the middle; the biocarrier is attached to the vertical carrier cables above the locking element. 2. The construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the length of the anchor cables and auxiliary cables to the load-bearing submerged buoys must ensure the placement of the load-bearing horizontal cable and load-bearing submerged buoys deeper than the lower boundary of the photic layer in the summer. 3. The construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical bearing cable has a diameter less than the diameter of the rings embedded in the horizontal bearing cable and is freely passed through them from the locking element to the load of the counterweight. 4. The construction according to claim 1, characterized in that the locking element on the vertical bearing cable is made in the form of a washer, the diameter of which is larger than the diameter of the ring mounted in the horizontal bearing cable, with a hole in the middle through which a bolt passed through the nut is fastened with this bolt head and nut are made in the form of eyes. 5. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that antennas with navigational equipment located above the sea surface are attached to the end buoys.

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