About this Research Topic
With the improvement of the population in the whole world, the quality of life, the consumption capacities, as well as human beings' demands for high-quality aquatic protein resources have gradually increased. The total aquaculture production worldwide has raised by 125% since 1986, while the total capturing production from fisheries has been in equilibrium. Therefore, marine aquaculture has become a more sustainable activity over the next decades. Offshore aquacultural Engineering is concerned with the design and development of effective aquacultural systems for marine facilities, playing an essential role in the expansion of the aquaculture industries. The developments of the typical aquaculture systems, including ponds, land-based recirculating systems, sea cages and offshore aquaculture structures, are quite overwhelming but the related environmental issues are rising simultaneously. On the other hand, further optimizations and evolutions of these facilities are still required as the variations of operational areas. For example, the fish-farming industry currently experiences a rapid shift towards open oceans due to the arising problems of near-shore areas. In the course of this transition, larger rigid frames are possible, whereas novel designs and affiliated equipment are required to account for the harsher sea states.
As a result, the design and management of these systems are primarily based on the production goals and the economics of the farming operation in aquacultural industries, while the interactions between aquacultural facilities and environments, from the perspectives of engineering, environments and aquatic animals, are however still overlooked. The multidisciplinary theoretical and practical fields are of great necessity to highlight the correlations of aquacultural engineering with marine environments, such as aquaculture water treatment, animal behavior and welfare, aquacultural structures and affiliated equipment, the integrated system of offshore wind turbines, solar energies and fish farms. The Topic Research aims to apply the knowledge combining the theoretical research and practical techniques which potentially can be translated into commercial operations. The focus of this research topic is to develop this bioengineering interface for aquaculture and welcomes contributions in the following areas:
– Engineering-related researches relate to designs, optimizations of aquaculture structures and affiliated equipment.
– Hydrodynamics and hydroelasticity issues in aquaculture systems.
– Practical experiences and techniques of construction and operations of aquaculture facilities.
– Animal behaviour and welfare issues in aquaculture fields, the response of animals to the variations of environments with the perspective of mechanism.
– The developments of the novel integrated systems of offshore wind turbines, solar energies and fish farms.
As a result, the design and management of these systems are primarily based on the production goals and the economics of the farming operation in aquacultural industries, while the interactions between aquacultural facilities and environments, from the perspectives of engineering, environments and aquatic animals, are however still overlooked. The multidisciplinary theoretical and practical fields are of great necessity to highlight the correlations of aquacultural engineering with marine environments, such as aquaculture water treatment, animal behavior and welfare, aquacultural structures and affiliated equipment, the integrated system of offshore wind turbines, solar energies and fish farms. The Topic Research aims to apply the knowledge combining the theoretical research and practical techniques which potentially can be translated into commercial operations. The focus of this research topic is to develop this bioengineering interface for aquaculture and welcomes contributions in the following areas:
– Engineering-related researches relate to designs, optimizations of aquaculture structures and affiliated equipment.
– Hydrodynamics and hydroelasticity issues in aquaculture systems.
– Practical experiences and techniques of construction and operations of aquaculture facilities.
– Animal behaviour and welfare issues in aquaculture fields, the response of animals to the variations of environments with the perspective of mechanism.
– The developments of the novel integrated systems of offshore wind turbines, solar energies and fish farms.
Keywords: Aquacultural facilities, Fish cages, Offshore fish farms, Aquaculture vessels, Environments, Interactions
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
