For System Design course, in groups of 5, we had to investigate the current salmon farming situation (we visited the site near Hitra island) and come up with a solution for the future concentrating on moving the majority of the system further offshore and automatising it as much as possible. Because we're that cool, we build a model of our proposal.

I  really invite you to look through the report we created describing all our failures and successes!

Our fish farm is a system of several cages clustered around a windmill. We decided that bringing the system further offshore justifies scaling it up to approximately 1 million fish per cage.

The windmill supplies power to the fish farm as well as sending most of its generated energy to the mainland. Operations are automated, and the need for manual labour is minimized. Transportation and storage are standardized.

In our concept we also include multi-purpose submersible containers: transportation pods. These are carried by much more nimble ships than today’s well-boats.

The windmill is a lot taller than onshore ones, being 250 metres tall. It is therefore able to generate a lot of power, and is a sustainable source of energy for both the fish farm and locations on the mainland. The feeding system is centred at the windmill. The windmill also pumps air into the cage for the features where this is needed

The cages are submerged to get them beneath the lice zone, and away from airborne predators and harsh weather conditions. An airtight air-bubble with artificial lighting inside provides a controllable, simulated water surface. This supports fish welfare. feeding and creates a natural habitat for the fish. We spent quite some time looking at

1 million fish per cage 5% fish to 95% water Diameter: 72 metres. Height: 30 metres Top of cage: 20 metres below the surface

The tanks are used for transporting food as well as live smolt and fish. On site, they are used for food storage, docked to the windmill and attached to the food distribution system. The tanks are multi-purpose, and have buoyancy regulation to allow submerging and surfacing on demand.

To deliver smolt and pick up harvest ready fish, they are connected to the cages in a submerged state. Physical reduction of space in cage or container is combined with more fish-friendly techniques like electromagnetic manipulation and controlled feeding to move the fish between cage and tank.

Tanks are transported by nimble catamarans - becoming trimarans when grasping onto the semi-boatshaped tank. These catamarans avoid the added weight needed to store the container in the ship; instead it is simply docked to the ship. The catamarans have a sail capability, and electric propulsion that they can recharge at the windmill.

We have a fantastic workshop at IPD, NTNU, and with this this model, we have really taken full advantage of it. Sea floor modeled in SolidWorks, digitally sliced and laser cut. Cages hand stitched from lace fabric. A meticulously lathed windmill, and the boats, pods and pod docking facilities were 3D printed.