Fish Farm Mooring Engineering

Mooring Analysis and Engineering Services for Marine Fish Farms

DSA Ocean provides comprehensive mooring system engineering services for marine finfish aquaculture sites.  Leveraging our team’s expertise and advanced analysis technology, we employ a customer-centric approach to tailor our services to client needs.

While our primary clientele are fish farmers, we also serve equipment suppliers and manufacturers. Our typical projects involve specifying synthetic-fiber ropes, chains, shackles, thimbles, anchors, mooring-nodes, buoys, and rock pins in engineering plans or drawings. These documents facilitate the procurement and construction of mooring systems by our clients.

Authenticated by professional engineers, our engineering plans adhere to best practices and standards like NS9415, ISO, and the Scottish Technical Standard.

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Scope of Services

We design mooring system plans for both square-cage steel systems and conventional circular HDPE-based fish pens, as well semi-closed and fully-closed systems. We conduct assessments on sea-lice tarps or other flexible barriers and containers.

Beyond engineering plans, we compile our analyses and rationales in a mooring analysis report which documents the required minimum breaking loads of mooring lines and anchor holding capacities. Before starting any project we assess metocean conditions and create a comprehensive metocean condition report, which can be applied to subsequent projects. Additionally, we conduct follow-up inspections of system hardware, survey as-built conditions, evaluate ROV or diver footage of anchors, and overall ensure the safety of fish farm mooring systems.

  • Specification and verification mooring systems for new and existing fish farms
  • Selection of appropriate mooring components, including anchors, chains, and buoys
  • Installation and maintenance of mooring systems
  • Inspection and monitoring of mooring systems to ensure compliance with NS9415 standards
  • Static and dynamic mooring analysis to assess the loads and forces acting on mooring systems
  • Fatigue analysis to evaluate the long-term integrity of mooring components
  • Hydrodynamic analysis to assess the effects of waves, currents, and wind on mooring systems
  • Our engineers are fully conversant with NS9415, ISO, and Scottish Technical Standard and have extensive experience in designing and engineering mooring systems that meet or exceed these requirements.
  • We work closely with our clients to ensure that their fish farms are compliant with standards and operate safely and efficiently.
  • risks to ensure the safety, reliability, and optimal performance of the fish farm.
  • Improved safety for fish farm personnel and equipment
  • Reduced risk of fish escapes
  • Compliance with regulatory, insurance and 3rd party certification requirements

We provide engineering inspection services of both circular and square steel-cage marine fish farms. Third-party engineering inspection and review involves an independent on-site assessment of the floating fish farm infrastructure by specialized ocean engineering experts. The deliverable is typically a comprehensive and actionable risk evaluation, providing insights into structural integrity and a valuable tool for owners assessing when systems will need to be replaced or undergo repairs. 

Engineering review benefits include: 

  • Regulatory Compliance: Stay ahead of industry standards and regulations with our comprehensive inspections, reducing the risk of non-compliance and potential penalties.
  • Optimized Performance: Identify and address structural weaknesses or inefficiencies, optimizing the performance and longevity of your floating fish farm.
  • Risk Mitigation: Proactive identification of potential risks and vulnerabilities minimizes downtime and operational disruptions, safeguarding your investment.
  • Trust & Credibility: Our independent third-party reviews build trust among stakeholders, demonstrating a commitment to quality and responsible aquaculture practices.
  • Deployment ADCP (current meters) to characterize site current conditions which are used to design the mooring system
  • Characterization of site wind conditions through desktop studies and data analysis
  • Advanced SWAN/SMS/MIKE wave propagation modeling, and fetch-based wind-wave analysis of wave conditions
  • Characterization and statistical analysis of 1 in 50 and 1 in 10 year return-period extreme metocean conditions
  • Review of geotechnical data to verify suitability of seabed for various anchor types and sizes