What is EasyFarm?

EasyFarm is a complete and thoroughly developed
system for the cultivation and harvesting of
mussel seed, mussels and seaweed in the vertical water column.
This system was developed in 2001 by a joint
venture of Prins & Dingemanse, Murre Technologies and
the TNO research centre. For Prins & Dingemanse
as a mussel farming company it is essential that
the availability of Dutch mussels is secured for the
future. As an engineering works Murre Technologies
focusses on the future of the international shellfish
and crustacean sector. TNO has supported the
two parties with biological expertise and research.

How is harvesting performed?
The harvesting machine has adjustable
brush belts, which can be adjusted as required. It
is possible to opt for a setting resulting in a clean
net (which means that everything is harvested) or
a setting whereby only the fully grown outer layer
of (seed) mussels/seaweed is removed from the net. As this
harvesting process is performed under water for the mussels, the
mussels in the inner layer are not affected by the
harvesting at all, so they can continue growing
undisturbed in their natural environment until they
have reached the required size. For the purpose of
seed mussel cultivation this well thought-out method
enables harvesting to be repeated once or twice per
harvesting season (7 months).

How does the seed mussel capturing system work?
The basis of the system consists of a 100 metre
long net (which can be 3 or 4 metres deep to your
requirements), held in position by a so-called floater
pipe. Both ends of the floater pipe are anchored to
the seabed. The mussel larvae/seaweed attach to the net and
then grow into seed mussels/seaweed there. When the seed
mussels/seaweed have grown into mature seed mussels/seaweed, halfgrown
mussels, mussels or seaweed fit for consumption, the
harvesting can be performed using the
harvesting machine especially developed by Murre
Technologies.

Quadro arrangement
More than a decade has passed since the
development of the concept in 2001 and during this
period we have gained a lot of experience together
with our partners. From this basis a quadro set-up
was designed offering space to no fewer than 12
systems per hectare (contrasting sharply with the
mere 3 systems operated during the single capturing
system). Basically only 2 anchors are needed
(instead of 8) for this quadro set-up, resulting in
considerable cost savings, especially in terms of
material and positioning. Obviously the cultivation
yield is tested extensively, showing good results
despite this clustering!