The vast majority of mitigation strategies for net cleaning rely on anti-fouling coatings such as copper and reactive removal of biofouling. Unfortunately, these approaches are costly and of limited efficacy and pose risks to the local environment, contributing to increased stress levels and fish mortality during grow-out at sea.
The use of copper in the nets causes damage to the aquatic environment and ecosystem, and in larger concentrations also for humans. Studies show that close to 30 per cent of the copper wears off the net during the initial high-pressure cleaning. Throughout the life of the pen net (three years), an estimated 80-90 per cent of copper is discharged to the sea, corresponding to 640 kilograms per net. The Remora technology eliminates the need for copper coating of the net.