Update on Case Study Pilot, Germany – July 2024

Following the deployment of the Smart Farm Unit last year, another highlight has been the deployment of the shellfish tower at Helgoland.

The site has now been expanded to 400 x 700 m (from 400 x 400 m) due to more interest from collaborating projects. Now that the SFT is in the sea, further technologies have been applied including GPS, which has been installed in case any equipment is lost out at sea! The Smart farm has been in operation for almost three months.

Significant collaboration with industry partner, Nordfriesische Seemuschel, has been undertaken to ensure a successful operations.

The construction of the new shellfish tower took place at AWI. This SFT will be used for the cultivation and production of oysters in the North Sea region. The assemblage below shows the holding units attached to the tower where the cultivation will take place.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are crucial for developing OLAMUR-inspired indicators for regional policymakers, as first demonstrated in the Danish Kriegers Flak demonstration site (B).

To support the SDGs in the project, a workshop was held at the German pilot site to promote sustainable multi-use strategies for ocean environments. At the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Bremerhaven, OLAMUR partners identified key indicators to guide the project’s development and assess its sustainability impact.

Earlier this year four marker-spare-buoys in the windfarm Meerwind Süd/Ost north of Helgoland, southern North Sea, were deployed. Pictures were taken onboard the multi-purpose buoy tender vessel Mellum which is part of the vessel fleet of the Water and Shipping Authority (WSA). WSA are responsible for the management of shipping ways in Germany. Their assistance was invaluable to AWI, providing all the necessary procedures, including legal advice and protocols, and the equipment for the deployment to be completed successfully.

Just last month, in Büsum outer harbour in Schleswig-Holstein, northern Germany Smart Farm AS was contracted to install SmartUnits for the OLAMUR case study pilot site. The SmartUnits consist of a pipe with a collector net for the cultivation of blue mussels. This structure consists of 13.5m long tubes, which were welded together to form a 50 m long tube (floating device) which was then automatically connected to the collector net. The industry partners Nordfriesische Seemuschel GmbH were involved in the set up these SmartUnits that have been installed for the cultivation and production of Blue mussels.

Adding to the structures in the German case study site, in North Sea region, further plans are underway for the installation of a shellfish tower. The structure is currently under construction. This shellfish tower will be similar to the used in projects in New Zealand. The shellfish tower will be used for cultivating and producing oysters (O.edulis).

Pictures have been provided by CAWTHORN, NZ