FR2586895A1 - Device for catching or growing a brood of shellfish such as mussels - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for catching or growing a brood of shellfish, of the type in which the elements for catching 7 are suspended on a line held on the surface or under the surface of water. The said catching elements comprise a tube 8 and projecting members 11, the tube comprising at its surface fastening means 10, 10' for the said projecting members.

Description

 The present invention relates to a device for collecting or enlarging spat from shellfish such as mussels, and more particularly such a device of the type in which collecting or enlarging elements are suspended from a line maintained on the surface or below the surface of the water.

 Such devices are already known in which the capture or magnification elements are flexible elements such as hawsers or nets. However, these elements have the disadvantage of being subjected to "lashes" when the suspension line is subjected to the action of the waves. Under the action of these lashes, shells detach from the capture elements and are consequently lost.

 The use of rigid capture elements has also been proposed, but they have insufficient gripping characteristics so that it frequently happens that clusters of shells detach from them when, due to their magnification, their weight becomes too important.

 The present invention aims to overcome these drawbacks.

 To this end, the subject of the invention is a device for the collection or the enlargement of spat from shellfish such as mussels, of the type in which collection elements are suspended from a line maintained on the surface or under the surface of the batten, characterized in that said collecting elements comprise a tube and projecting members, the tube comprising on its surface fixing means for said projecting members.

 Due to the protrusions present on their surface, these capture elements have much better attachment characteristics than the known elements. Furthermore, they are relatively inexpensive because their support part consists essentially of a conventional tube.

 Said projecting members may moreover themselves be tubular members with an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said tube.

 In a particular embodiment of the invention, said fixing means comprise holes formed in the wall of said tube in which said tubular members are engaged.

 Preferably, said tube has its ridged outer surface in order to facilitate the attachment of the shells.

A particular embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the appended schematic drawings in which
FIG. 1 is an overall view of a device according to the invention, and
- Figure 2 is a partial perspective view on a larger scale of a capture element used in the device of Figure l.

 FIG. 1 represents a collection device comprising a submerged line] maintained under the surface 2 of the water by its ends, where it is fixed between two lateral lines 3, each stretched between a buoy 4 and an anchoring mass 5 disposed at the bottom of the water. Other buoys 6, immersed are attached to the line 1 to keep it relatively straight.

 The collection elements 7 are suspended from line 1 by any suitable means.

 These collection elements comprise a substantially vertical tube 8, the external peripheral surface of which forms ridges 9 making it possible to increase its roughness. The tube 8 is made of any suitable material, for example extruded plastic. In Figure 2, this tube has a circular cross section but any other section can of course also be considered.

 The surface of the tube 8 has, over at least part of its length, holes 10 and 10 ′, for example diametrically opposite in a cutting plane perpendicular to the axis of the tube. These holes 10 and 10 'allow the passage of tubular hooking members 11 protruding on either side of the tube 8 to form protrusions increasing the hooking capacity of the tube.

 The axes of the tubes It are therefore perpendicular to the axis of the tube 8. The shape and dimensions of the holes 10 and 10 ′ are adapted to the shape and dimensions of the cross section of the tubular members 11 so as to maintain them of these organs on the tube 8.

 FIG. 2 represents the members 11 arranged alternately in two axial planes perpendicular to one another. Any other provision could however be considered.

 Of course, various variants and modifications can be made to the above description without departing from the scope or the spirit of the invention.

Claims (4)

 R FNDICATIONS  l - Device for the collection or the enlargement of spat from mussels such as mussels, of the type in which collection elements (7) are suspended from a line (1) maintained at the surface cu below the surface of the water, characterized by the fact that said capture elements comprise a tube (8) and projecting members (11), the tube comprising on its surface fixing means (10, 10 ') for said projecting members.  2 - Device according to claim 1, characterized in that said projecting members are tubular members with an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis of said tube.  3 - Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said fixing means comprise holes formed in the wall of said tube, in which are engaged said tubular members.  4 - Device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said tube has its striated outer surface.