Effects of a Shielding Skirt for Prevention of Sea Lice on the Flow Past Stocked Salmon Fish Cages

The effect of a shielding skirt, a tarpaulin mounted from the surface down to 5 m depth around a net cage, on the flow pattern at a commercially stocked salmon cage was investigated. Dye was used as a tracer for water movement and the dye spreading was monitored using aerial images. Current meters were employed to investigate the flow close to the net inside and outside the cage. Tests were conducted with and without the shielding skirt. The focus was on the effectiveness of the shielding skirt to deflect water around the cage. This study shows that a shielding skirt can reduce horizontal flow components significantly inside a cage, which is related to a reduction of water exchange. The flow toward a cage is divided by a shielding skirt, i.e., some of the water is transported around the cage, while some is passing underneath the shielding skirt. Some water entering the fish cage from underneath the tarpaulin is transported toward the surface inside the cage. The use of a shielding skirt might not prevent interaction of the upper water layers inside and outside of a fish cage completely, but it has the potential to reduce the inflow of surface water into the cage, if deployed properly.