First IMTA-pilot on the North Sea

Ready? Set. Go! The first North Sea Mussel Module is now treading water! Water that is, from now on, being measured by our brand new NSIL Data Buoy. Yesterday, around noon, we headed off to the North Innovation Lab to install the NSIL Data Buoy and a mussel module. By placing the latter directly next to the already operational seaweed module, SMAC3.0, we are taking an important first step towards testing integrated aquaculture at our offshore lab. The measurement buoy will help in measuring the effects of such an integrated setup and we’re very happy to see that as of its launch yesterday it is successfully measuring various sea water parameters and sending them directly to an onshore monitoring station. The Data Buoy and Mussel Module are part of the European project IMPAQT; the design and installation were carried out in close collaboration with Proeftuin op de Noordzee and Rijkswaterstaat.

Aquaculture data for sea farmers

It’s Thursday morning, the 6th of February, 7.30 am. A rising sun greets the Data Buoy and Mussel Module at Rozenburg; the place from where we’ll head off to the North Sea Innovation Lab to install both buoy and module in our beautiful and sometimes rough sea. The crew of the MS Terschelling is busy hoisting the Mussel Module on board.

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