7 minute read
Nicki Holmyard
BY NICKI HOLMYARD
Flipping clever
An idea from New Zealand has the potential to overturning the global oyster industry
SEASONED oyster farmer Aaron Pannell, of Marlborough Oysters Ltd in New Zealand, has revolu� onised his business over the past few years. Now, he wants the world to know that oyster farming in the 21st century can be effi cient, produc� ve and profi table.
The solu� on, he says, is the FlipFarm.
Pannell spoke to Fish Farmer about the highs and lows of a journey that has led to the roll-out of a product that could save the industry many thousands of hours.
Pannell, who started the company with his wife, Debbie, in 2011, has more than 25 years’ experience in aquaculture and marine farming engineering. He also has a passion for innova� ve technology, which led him to analyse how things could be done be� er.
Ini� ally the farm was based on a fl oa� ng plas� c mesh bag system secured between a double backbone headline. As demand grew, and Marlborough Oysters became one of the country’s largest producers, with 20 million shells in the water, Pannell hit a series of biological, meteorological and staffi ng crises. He recognised that he needed to overhaul the business.
An oyster virus and a plague of fl atworms destroyed more than half of the stock, biofouling became intense,and a major storm added to the Pannells’ woes, with overall losses es� mated at around A$1.5 million (£800,000).
Equipment failure was an ongoing issue, with the webbing lanyards that a� ached the oyster bags to the longlines constantly chafi ng through. This led to a large maintenance bill and the loss of many bags.
While trying out various containers and baskets to come up with a solu� on, Pannell bought another small local oyster company, which had some Hexcyl Pro Series rigid hexagonal oyster baskets lying around. A� er much experimenta� on with diff erent clips and a� achments, he tried threading a rope through the middle of these baskets.
His “eureka” moment came when he returned to li� the line to clean the oysters and no� ced that all the baskets automa� cally fl ipped over and that the animals were all in fl ipped over and that the animals were all in premium condi� on. premium condi� on.
“That moment not only changed my life, but also changed the oyster farming industry. but also changed the oyster farming industry. I saw that the need to constantly turn bags I saw that the need to constantly turn bags could be eliminated; all that was needed was could be eliminated; all that was needed was a reliable way to fl ip them,” Pannell says. a reliable way to fl ip them,” Pannell says.
Following some fi ne-tuning of machinery and proving of the system, he changed his and proving of the system, he changed his opera� on from bags to baskets and found that opera� on from bags to baskets and found that the labour saving was considerable. Previously the labour saving was considerable. Previously it took a whole week to turn 40,000 bags, but it took a whole week to turn 40,000 bags, but with the prototype FlipFarm, the job could be with the prototype FlipFarm, the job could be done in a ma� er of hours. done in a ma� er of hours.
According to Pannell, his system off ers a “sleek and effi cient solu� on to many of the “sleek and effi cient solu� on to many of the issues that oyster farmers encounter with issues that oyster farmers encounter with exis� ng growing methods,” not least the exis� ng growing methods,” not least the provision of a good environment for provision of a good environment for growth and condi� oning of oysters. He is growth and condi� oning of oysters. He is delighted that the system has improved the delighted that the system has improved the
Opposite from top: Debbie and Aaron Pannell; FlipFarm mechanism Above: Aaron, with sons Joel and Luke, harves� ng oysters Below: The FlipFarm vessel quality of the oysters, eradicated the fl atworm problem and reduced the annual mortality rate by 66%.
The beauty of FlipFarm is that it requires li� le in the way of human eff ort to fl ip the oyster cages in the water. That makes shellfi sh farming more a� rac� ve to people who might not have considered it as a career before. It is also a boon for oyster farmers who use tradi� onal bag and trestle systems and consequently spend much of their lives bent double. Imagine no more bad backs and fewer chiropractor bills!
FlipFarm has been designed to use the Australian-made Hexcyl Pro Series oyster basket, with a blow-moulded 12-litre fl oat a� ached to one side. Each 100-metre line of 300 baskets is a� ached permanently to a 24mm polypropylene rope backbone. Pannell explains that this makes the system almost bullet-proof as far as losses off the lines go. Also, the opportunity for damage and wear is considerably reduced and maintenance is minimal.
The current system works on the sea surface, but Pannell is also developing submersible that which will enable lines to be sunk and raised in a ma� er of minutes to prevent storm, ice or freshwater damage to the valuable crop.
Music to oyster farmers’ ears is that the labour required for grading or sor� ng is also signifi cantly reduced, as the shells can easily be � pped into and out of the baskets without removing them from the lines. If the farm is in a sheltered loca� on, it might be possible to grade on site using a small pontoon or purpose-built vessel. Pannell explains that he has been able to reduce his grading team by 60%.
A further advantage is that with the growing gear remaining permanently on the lines, there is no need for a large area onshore storage area.
“Using rigid baskets instead of bags means that no oysters are trapped in corners, so they do not become mis-shaped, the oysters have a much more consistent shell shape and meat condi� on, and there is no wastage. Also, predators such as oystercatchers cannot easily reach the oysters to peck at them as they can in some systems,” he says.
FlipFarm comes as a complete package or as components, and full consultancy is available if required.
Since its offi cial launch two years ago, FlipFarm has been taken up by more than 70 oyster farmers in 12 countries around the world and Pannell is proud that his innova� on is changing the dynamic of the industry.
This modest couple has already won a string of awards, the most recent of which was the aquaculture innova� on award at the Global Seafood Alliance Awards 2021.
Pannell said: “FlipFarm Systems was honoured to be awarded the Global Seafood Alliance Innova� on award for 2021. Considering the extremely high calibre of the fi nalists, we feel very privileged to have won this award on behalf of our hard-working team.
“Debbie and I would like to recognise the many people who have been involved in developing and implemen� ng the FlipFarm system and look forward to con� nuing our mission to deliver world-class aquaculture solu� ons to the most sustainable and exci� ng industry in the world!” FF
