The cultivation of both freshwater and saltwater fish populations under controlled conditions is a global industry valued at around $200 billion annually and only made possible with the use of huge aquaculture nets.

Biofouling

“These nets are very prone to biofouling and to avoid its negative impacts, high-pressure robotic jets are now used to clean them,” explains Monforts Head of Technical Textiles Jürgen Hanel. “Net cleaning is expensive and can also damage current antifouling coatings on the nets, causing contamination as well as fish health and welfare risks.

“The abrasion resistance of the nets is also extremely important, because in addition to the general wear and tear of the underwater environment, they also contain a lot of potential food for predatory bigger fish, such as sharks. Even sea lions have been known to be attracted to these fish farming cages, but have the advantage of being able to jump over the top of them if they’re not sufficiently protected.”

The development of more effective antifouling coatings for fishing cage nets has been one aspect of R&D work at the Monforts ATC, while the use of how alternative fibres could potentially be coated or finished to replace the polyamide which is currently most widely used has also been explored.

The issue of plastics and synthetic fibres in the oceans has generated global media attention recently, and the aquaculture industry is exploring all avenues that will lead to more sustainable practices.

Diverse applications

“We are asked to investigate a wide range of fabric finishes and coatings at the ATC, where our customers can test their own textiles and technical fabrics on Monforts dyeing, finishing and coating machines under fully confidential, real production conditions,” says Jürgen Hanel.