Fluid-structure interactions of cage based aquaculture: From structures to organisms

The study of how fluid interacts with aquaculture cages and how it influences fish swimming behaviour has proven to be of great importance for designing offshore aquaculture cage systems. This review examines the fluid-structure interactions, between structures and organisms, within cage-based aquaculture. Using data from previous research, we list and classify aquaculture cages into net-cage and closed-cage systems. Net-cage aquaculture systems are classified with regards to their submergence, materials and aperture shapes of nets. Then, the comparison is made between the research methods used to assess the interactions between environmental loads and aquaculture cages; this comparison includes analytical studies, numerical implementations, field tests and laboratory experiments. We also provide reviews of topics such as mooring and grid systems, drag coefficients of the net panel, hydrodynamic behaviours of cage components, velocity reduction of cage array and volume reduction caused by cage deformation. In particular, fish swimming behaviour is reviewed for designing new open ocean aquaculture systems. To support the further development of aquaculture engineering and technology, statistics, tables, formulae and figures are provided.