In recent years, the global demand for aquatic products has been continuously increasing, and the use of natural resources in the ocean may have reached its maximum limit. This means that the growth of aquatic product production in the future will mainly rely on aquaculture. At present, the global annual production of marine aquaculture has reached nearly 200 million tons, and the global consumption of marine aquaculture has increased by about 50% in the past decade.
The copper alloy net technology, born in 1975, utilizes the natural antibacterial and corrosion resistance of copper to prevent marine organisms from growing in the aquaculture net, thereby creating cleaner and healthier conditions for fish farming. At the same time, this technology greatly reduces the frequency of cleaning and replacing fishing nets, and reduces losses caused by attacks from carnivores or fish escaping. Haosail machinery has improved the technology of the copper alloy net with higher strength and wear resitance capability etc than former copper alloy net.
The existing net cage is generally made of synthetic fiber fishing net materials (including polyethylene or polyamide fishing net materials), therefore, copper alloy net cage sets equipped with copper net materials mainly compete with synthetic fiber fishing net materials. The natural antibacterial and corrosion-resistant properties of copper alloy mesh cages make up for the shortcomings of traditional mesh clothing. “Although the one-time investment is high, it has high returns and high output value. In addition to saving labor and breeding costs, it is still a very worthwhile investment project with long-term benefits.” Li Hong, General Manager of Qingdao Haosail Machinery Co., Ltd., summarized the two major advantages of copper alloy net:
One is that it can withstand strong winds and waves. The copper alloy net is made of a special copper alloy produced by a special process. This material determines the good plasticity of the mesh cage, which will not easily deform under strong wind and waves. In addition, the effective water body for breeding is large, which can increase the number of fish, reduce the impact of wind and waves on the fish body, and cause less damage to the fish.
Secondly, it has natural antibacterial properties. Due to the slow release of copper ions after soaking in seawater, slight toxicity can inhibit algae growth and greatly reduce the amount of sediment attached to the net cage. In summer, the temperature is high. If it is a traditional mesh cage with excessive growth of seaweed and other attachments, the net should be picked up and cleaned every week. In spring and autumn, it should be cleaned approximately every 2-3 weeks. The copper alloy net only needs to be cleaned at the bottom of the water by mechanical or diver high-pressure water gun cleaning every year, which can save a lot of labor costs for drying and cleaning the mesh.