WO2019043419A2 - Fish incubator - Google Patents

Abstract

A young fish settlement and protection device to be installed within water. The invention provides protection areas, which support the growth of marine life and provide a suitable environment for the growth of fish stocks during the sensitive early stages of development, i.e. from the egg stage until the stage of the installation of the offspring and prior to the nektobenthik installation. The device provides for an egg attachment surface, the development of phytobenthos, zoobenthos, phytoplankton and zooplankton societies and has a three-dimensional structure of various shapes. It made out of fishnets and ropes and it is held to the sea bottom by suitable anchoring. The stitching of the fishnets and ropes is square-shaped to prevent fishnet eye shutting and fish arresting. It deploys with ease when it reaches the sea floor to maintain its three-dimensional shape with the support of floaters and weights. The construction materials (fishnets, ropes, floaters, weights) consist of mainly fish-hunting tools.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Fish incubator

The invention relates to a tool for attracting and protecting young fish from predators

The reduction of natural mortality due to hunting is a weapon of fisheries managers in order to exploit the maximum capacity of the ecosystem to produce with an increase in the overall survival volume. The strategy for the survival of most fish is to produce a large number of offspring so that, after the successive decrease of the population due to natural and fishing mortality, they remain capable of breeding and perpetuating the species. The loss of most of the population is due to natural mortality where younger fish become the prey of bigger predators. Most fish behave in the early stages of their lives as plankton and are consumed by a large number of planktonophagous fish. Then, as fish grow in size and acquire the ability to swim, they try to find some habitat that will offer protection from their predators. If they do so, the degree of survival increases. Such habitats are the natural reefs, the meadows of posidonia and all other seaweed areas, but also submerged structures such as artificial reefs.

Population survival in terms of number of individuals is: one pair of fish per 100,000 to 1,000,000 eggs. The increase in fish mass at the same period ranges from one to ten kilograms for every one milligram. Based on fish growth potential, each milligram of fish that will survive and reach the next developmental stages of adulthood will yield between 1 and 10 kilograms of fish (fish growth from 1,000 to 10,000 times).

The- present invention relates to a new type of device that can create suitable habitats that can attract young fish and provide them protection at the critical time period before their adulthood. These devices play the role of artificial reefs but excel in efficiency as well as in terms of cost-effectiveness. l The devices are made of ropes and fishnets, which are sewn properly to prevent their eyes from shutting and, with the help of floats and ballasts, create large, three-dimensional structures when they are submerged. The devices are predominantly pyramidal in shape but may also have the shape of ^' a tree, cylindrical or cubical. After their placement in the water they begin to settle with marine organisms that increase the complexity of the ecosystem. They can be placed in deserted dams to create new habitats that attract various marine organisms and create a new oasis of life. The advantages of the described invention are:

- The ability of the tool to attract fish and provide them with food and protection.

- Great flexibility in shaping the tool volume due to its manufacturing simplicity and the lightweight materials used.

- The ease of installing it even from a small boat by non-specialized users.

- The great performance of the tool, due to its large volume and manufacturing innovations.

- Low construction and installation costs.

- The absence of environmental pollution

The device is made of ropes which define the edges and compartments of a pyramid (Figure 2) and which at the bottom of the pyramid are attached to ballast while at the top of it are connected to floats. On the ropes is knotted a fishnet in squares. The seams of the fishnet are placed on teir side and not on its diagonal. In this way, the stitches of the mesh are parallel to the geometric edges of the body of the device either to the axis or the bottom level. With this seam, the vertical tensions are applied parallel to each side of the fishnet's eye so that it does not close. As a result, the fishnet cannot act as a fishing tool. The net is knit so that it covers all sides of the structure, which in its extended form takes the shape of a pyramid. Inside the pyramid an additional tree structure (Figure 1) can be placed which further increases the complexity of the device. The tree structure can also be placed by itself playing the same role with the pyramid as a protective device. In addition to the base of the appliance, square mesh nets are also placed in order to create successive prismatic closed compartments. The compartments located at the base of the device are made with nets with a large fishnet's eyes, while the following have a gradually smaller opening. This creates cages in which fish of different sizes can penetrate.

At the top of the device are placed floats capable of providing the required levitation to fully open the device initially but also to retain the additional weight that will result from the installation of the device. At the bottom of the net on the perimeter of the base of the appliance are placed weights which cause the net to always be in contact with the bottom. The combination of floats and ballast ensures that the device is always kept in a vertical position and that it will return to that position after the bending it will suffer as a result of the wave effect or currents.

The appliance, after being submerged, begins to be inhabited by various organisms of the local marine flora and fauna, resulting in the creation of an environment resembling to a natural reef. The labyrinths that create the net combined with the imposed seaweed create a new habitat with many enclosed spaces that can be used by different sizes and species of fish. Lastly, the protection of smaller fish is not restrictive as it allows at every stage of their maturity to move to other free natural spaces and to re-enter when they choose it.

Claims

CLAIMS The claims are as follows:

1. Device for the attraction, protection and feeding of young fish which is consisted of: - A three-dimensional structure made of fishnets, ropes and chains of various kinds and dimensions in the form of a pyramid or parallelepiped or a cone or cylinder

- A frame consisted of ropes of various kinds and dimensions which creates the load-bearing body of the structure - Covers on the sides of the structures but also transversally consisted of fishnets and ropes knitted in a square configuration in order to create cagelike closed compartments

- Layout arrangement of the covers with variable openings where the larger openings are found at the lower compartments of the structure while the aperture decreases gradually towards the upper compartments of the structure, creating areas that can provide shelter to fishes of different size

- Floaters of various sizes located at appropriate points in the structure to provide sufficient buoyancy to maintain the device to the full extent of its volume but also to bring the device back to its proper position after any distortion occurs from waves or marine currents.

2. The invention as described in claim 1 allows the free flow of water through the device and the fish according to their size while it deters large fish from passing through in order to prevent predation. At the same time it allows the development of marine life on the surface of the material thus, creating a habitat that offers protection and food to the younger fish.