New oil spill clean-up technology could benefit aquaculture producers

Aquaculture sites are vulnerable to oil spills, and the most vulnerable are coastal ocean sites where waves and currents quickly disrupt clean-up attempts.

Extreme Spill Technology (EST) is developing specialized vessels and proprietary equipment designed to recover oil spilled in all waters, with particular focus on extremely difficult challenges like rough seas and waters choked with heavy ice such as the Arctic Ocean, Northwest Passage, Gulf of St. Lawrence, and Labrador Sea. EST is currently working with strategic partners in Canada, Norway and China.

Aquaculture in open water is vulnerable to oil spills. EST is developing technology to overcome today’s clean-up limitations – it’s impossible to recover oil in waves over 2m or in moving ice and currents. EST is interested in talking to and working with the aquaculture sector and other partners to bring their technology to the market.

Innovation in oil spill clean-up has not occurred in over 40 years. One current R&D approach focuses on dissolving the oil into the food chain. This approach, in fact, has been ongoing for decades but has recently been shown to potentially poison fish and other underwater life: Queens News Centre. The only safe way to mitigate an oil spill is to mechanically remove the oil from the water. Unfortunately, this is currently impossible in waves over 2-3m, in currents, in blizzards, ice, etc. EST believes that its technology has great potential to make it possible.

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