System and method for production of marine food using submerged platform
OwnerVernon L. Kippinginventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A platform is maintained at a fixed or controlled variable distance below the surface of waters which do not naturally have a substrate suitable for production of marine food; e.g. beyond the continental shelf. Nutrients (e.g. waste biological products) are supplied to the platform, preferably at a controlled rate. The depth of the platform is such that solar energy or other illumination causes the nutrients to reinforce the natural ecosystem, thereby increasing the production of fish which may be harvested as human food.
Claims11
A system for production of marine food comprising an open platform containing materials to support flora and fauna, first means located totally below the surface of the water for maintaining said platform submerged at a selected depth in an open body of water within the euphotic zone so that said platform is not subjected to wave action on the surface, and second means for supplying nutrients to said platform over an extended period of time, whereby the occurrence of phytoplankton and plankton in the vicinity of said platform is increased and bloom of zooplankton is increased.
A method for increasing the production of fish and aquatic life in an area where water depth, lack of natural nutrients or the condition of the substrate inhibits natural production of plant life and fauna comprising providing an open platform habitat suitable for growth of plants and animals, locating said platform in an open body of water at a pre-selected depth in the euphotic zone of said water in said area, said platform being totally below the surface and not subject to disturbance by wave action on the surface, and providing controlled quantities of nutrients to said platform over a prolonged period of time.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.