SEAMOR Marine offers innovative ROV solutions specifically engineered to enhance environmental monitoring in aquaculture, ensuring compliance with regulatory standards while minimizing ecological impact.
By utilizing advanced technology, SEAMOR Marine addresses the unique challenges faced by the aquaculture sector in British Columbia, providing efficient data collection methods that promote long-term sustainability.
Situation
The environmental implications of finfish aquaculture have emerged as a significant concern for British Columbia’s marine sector in recent years.
Safeguarding our oceans is a vital priority on both national and international levels—industry and government are now collaborating to promote the sustainability of this crucial component of BC’s recovering economy.
The Aquaculture Activities Regulation (AAR) mandates that fish farms in BC perform benthic surveys at peak biomass to ensure long-term sustainability.
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Problem
Carrying out these benthic surveys in hard bottom locations presents challenges, as aquaculture operations in British Columbia are generally situated in waters that range from 40 meters to 300 meters deep.
Human divers can only remain at the shallowest depths for brief periods and require extensive recovery time in decompression tanks afterward.
For standard hard bottom benthic surveys, video footage of the ocean floor is gathered from the edge of the containment array extending outwards at least 152 meters from the facility, or until indicator species such as Beggiatoa and organic particulate matter (OPCs) are no longer detected.
Video is recorded along at least two transects: one for each of the primary and secondary current directions.
Baseline surveys for modifications to these sites are even more demanding, necessitating video transects spaced every 100 meters, both perpendicular and parallel to the coast across the entire aquaculture tenure area.
This challenge is compounded by the need to collect video identifying organisms as small as one centimeter across various substrates, including sand, mud, cobblestone, and bedrock, at depths of up to 300 meters.
Additionally, the frequency of sampling must be limited. Benthic surveys incur significant costs for industry stakeholders, and extensive sampling activities can disrupt the marine ecosystem surrounding the aquaculture site.
The overarching challenge is to develop low-impact, high-efficiency testing methods that will ensure fish farms comply with AAR standards, enabling them to operate at peak productivity while maintaining long-term environmental sustainability.
Learn more about SEAMOR’s ROV solutions >>
Solution
Mainstream Biological Consulting employs the SEAMOR ROV to efficiently gather the necessary video footage for benthic surveys while minimizing environmental impact and reducing risks to human safety.
The SEAMOR ROV offers an ideal combination of rugged durability, thruster capability, and compact transportability.
“There are other smaller, cheaper systems that are used in aquaculture, but they can’t do what we do,” said Lance Stewardson, Mainstream’s co-founder. “They can’t fly in the conditions we fly in.”
Tidal timing is a critical consideration when divers or less resilient ROVs are involved; however, Stewardson and his team do not need to wait for slack tide to conduct their surveys. The SEAMOR’s compact design facilitates easy transportation to remote locations by boat or by air via floatplane.
The environmental challenges encountered by Stewardson and his team during surveys require flexibility, which is reflected in the design of the SEAMOR ROV.
Stewardson combines the SEAMOR’s built-in camera with a GoPro to capture higher resolution video and utilizes third-party instruments, such as the LinkQuest TrackLink USBL tracking system, for enhanced geolocation data.
This highlights the intentional modularity and compatibility of the ROV’s design.
Yet, according to Stewardson, the true advantage of the SEAMOR ROV lies in the responsive support team at SEAMOR, who provide timely assistance to ensure that he and his team at Mainstream Biological Consulting can operate year-round with minimal interruptions.
Results
Mainstream Biological’s strategic use of the SEAMOR ROV exemplifies the future of aquaculture monitoring through benthic surveys.
It not only delivers essential data safely and reliably, minimizing risks to human life, but also serves as a vital tool in developing projection models that help assess the long-term effects of fish farms on our coastal marine ecosystems.
These statistical models reduce the need for frequent testing, thereby lowering costs for industry stakeholders, ensuring compliance with AAR environmental regulations, and optimizing production strategies for BC’s leading aquaculture operations.
