site user(s):
Marine Energy Engineering Centre of Excellence & Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company
technology tested:
4 different mooring line rope types in total were tested, both natural & man-made, with 3 replicates of each to ensure confidence in the findings.
12 systems in total were deployed using a seabed anchor, single riser (made of 1 of the 4 rope types) and a yellow marker buoy.
sites used:
Dale Roads – provided adequate depth, exposure and a suitable ecosystem for this experiment.
duration of deployment:
12 months from January 2023 to January 2024.
test aims:
To investigate how different mooring line materials support species colonisation and to assess the growth of local seaweed and other species on these materials.
test outcome:
The deployment found successful evidence of seaweed growth on all types of rope and demonstrated natural fibre ropes degrading at a faster rate.
