Fishing, aquaculture and specialist operations
Providing reliable, sustainable vessels to ensure the future of our oceans and population.
Our appetite for fish and fish products shows no signs of slowing. Fishing – and increasingly aquaculture – play a key role in providing food, nutrition and employment. The fishery and aquaculture sector has grown significantly in recent decades with total production, trade and consumption soaring. However, since the early 1990s, most growth in production has been driven by aquaculture – including fish, shellfish, algae and other aquatic organisms. Seaweed and microalgae cultivation has experienced rapid growth, particularly in Asia, and is in urgent need of standardised production technologies. Aquaculture clearly has significant potential to help provide a healthy and sustainable protein source for future populations, in particular food production from marine algae-based aquaculture.
However, both fishing and aquaculture are already experiencing the effects of climate change as the water surface temperature increases, oxygen is depleted, and the oceans become more acidic. Sustainable aquaculture development and effective fishery management are critical to ensure the industry’s future. There is growing evidence that, with careful management, fish stocks can grow and rebuild, significantly increasing the number of fish in our oceans and rivers.
It goes without saying that building lighter, more sustainable vessels will also play a key role in preserving our oceans and limiting the environmental impacts of fishing. By placing sustainability at the heart of vessel design, we can shape the fishing and aquaculture industries of tomorrow.
Need help building your fishing or aquaculture support vessels? Looking for ways to make your vessels more efficient and sustainable?
Fishing vessels for today and tomorrow
Often subject to harsh climatic and environmental conditions, fishing vessels need to combine durability and performance with maximum comfort for the crew. Acoustic and thermal comfort are essential to create a comfortable living and working environment. With technical insulation, like the U Sea Protect range from ISOVER, you can significantly reduce noise and maintain a constant room temperature. Choosing lighter solutions also reduces the weight of the vessel, and consequently fuel consumption and emissions.
On the other hand, adapted marine coatings – like Thermal Spray Aluminium (TSA) applied with the lightweight Z-Jet Wire Flame Spray from Saint-Gobain Coatings Solutions – prevent corrosion and significantly increase the lifespan of your vessel. Less maintenance means lower operating costs. Robust glazing solutions ensure that your crew are protected from high-pressure waves in stormy conditions. To provide this level of protection, Vetrotech has developed a range of highly resistant, tailored glazing solutions designed for extreme marine conditions.
At Saint-Gobain, our brands work closely with key players in the fishing and aquaculture sectors to develop adapted solutions across all marine and offshore applications. For vessels that are optimised at every level in terms of cost, durability and environmental performance.
Protecting our oceans for tomorrow
Aquatic food systems are under pressure. As the global population grows, food production often comes at the expense of the environment. Initiatives like the Blue Transformation from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations provide a vision to expand aquatic food systems to increase their contribution to feeding the world’s growing population through equitable and sustainable growth. The Blue Transformation roadmap shows how aquatic food systems can drive food security, nutrition and affordable healthy diets, and achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals. Committed to developing a more sustainable Marine and Offshore industry – for fishery and aquaculture and across other sectors from cruise ships to navy vessels – our Saint-Gobain Marine brands are working hard to develop materials and solutions with a lower environmental impact, whether through lighter materials, or greater energy efficiency or cleaner water. – for example, Saint-Gobain Performance Ceramics and Refactories provides a range of solutions to filter waste water including Crystar® ceramic microfiltration.
