Method and means for husbanding marine organisms

A method and means for enhancing, encouraging and facilitating the growth of various species of marine life in an aqueous environment uses a nutrient mix derived from chemicals such as calcium carbonate and refined lanolin. When placed upon organic substrate support materials such as corn cobs and/or oyster shells and submerged in the presence of certain temperate zone climatic conditions, resulting marine life may be harvested for further commercial utilization or it may be allowed to remain in situ for "natural" utilization such as, for example, attracting ducks, geese and/or other species of waterfowl to a marine habitat.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates generally to husbanding the growth of marine 
organisms in an aqueous medium for the purpose of using either the 
organisms themselves or the different life forms that flourish in their 
presence. More particularly, this invention relates to a method and means 
for encouraging the growth of various species of marine organisms by 
enhancing the nutritional characteristics of the environment in which the 
organisms evolve, and mechanically facilitating such growth. Stimulation 
of natural growth of marine organisms in response to alteration of the 
nutrient level of an aqueous; medium is disclosed in the prior art. 
However, this invention goes beyond the prior art to disclose that 
particular menus of nutrient materials comprising mixtures of selected 
minerals derived from hydrated oyster shell powder, and selected chemical 
compounds from the group comprising fish oil, refined lanolin and 
vegetable oils such as linseed oil, prepared and presented in accordance 
with the discoveries of this invention, will help to advance the evolution 
of various species of marine organisms in a natural aqueous medium. 
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to selectively enhance the 
growth of marine organisms in an aqueous medium, so as to attract predator 
and parasite forms of life that feed naturally upon the marine organisms 
that are thus grown. 
It is a still further object of this invention to selectively enhance the 
growth of marine organisms through the derivation of mineral nutrients 
from processed sea shells. 
Another and still further object of this invention is the derivation of 
calcium carbonate and other minerals for use in accordance with this 
invention, through the processing of oyster shells. 
Still another and further object of this invention is the enhancement of 
the growth of marine organisms through the use of selected chemical 
compounds derived from refined lanolin or vegetable sources. 
These and other and further objects, features and advantages of this 
invention will be made obvious to those having skill in this art, by 
reference to the following description and claims, and the accompanying 
drawings, in which:

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
In accordance with this invention, Calcium Carbonate in combination with 
other selected minerals, as more specifically describe in this 
specification, is mixed with selected chemical compounds derived from 
refined lanolin or fish oil or vegetable sources in approximately equal 
parts by volume. Refined lanolin, the preferred form for this invention, 
typically comprises approximately 35.4% esters of sterols and triterpene 
alcohols, 23.7% esters of aliphatic alcohols, 20.0% monohydroxyesters of 
sterols and of triterpene and aliphatic alcohols, 7.9% di- and 
polyhydroxyesters and free diols, 5.6% free aliphatic alcohols, 4.1% free 
sterols, 0.6% free hydrocarbons, 0.5% free fatty acids, and 2.2% unknowns. 
Hydrated sea shells in powder form, which includes Calcium Carbonate, is a 
preferred combination of minerals for use in this invention. The powder 
preferably is formed by heating common oyster shells to a temperature 
within the range of 2000.degree. F. to 2400.degree. F. for at least five 
hours and then allowing the treated shells to cool to room temperature 
before mixing the dehydrated shells with low mineral content water such as 
rain water or well water in a liquid measure ratio of approximately three 
parts water to one part shells to cause an exothermic reaction that 
reduces the shells to a powder form when the water has been thoroughly 
absorbed. Preferably, the powdered minerals used in accordance with this 
invention will comprise, by weight, approximately 50% calcium, 0.1% 
phosphorus, 0.3% magnesium and 0.2% each of potassium and sodium. 
It has been found that the mixture of calcium carbonate powder and chemical 
compound derived from refined lanolin or vegetable sources such as linseed 
oil, acts as a "facilitator", in brackish, fresh water or salt water, to 
encourage the growth of marine organisms, beginning with common Algae, 
which have been found to lead to the evolution of Amphipods that feed upon 
the Algae; these are in turn followed by Phytoplankton, that are 
themselves followed by Zooplankton. It is known that the evolution of 
Phytoplankton and Zooplankton under these circumstances, will be followed 
in normal course, by the evolution of barnacles, dams, mussels and the 
like. 
It has been discovered that the latitude of exposure to daily sunlight and 
moonlight, and the length of daily exposure time to these parameters will 
have a serious effect on the efficacy of the desired evolutionary process. 
Ambient temperature and liquid flow past the exposed nutrient mix as 
affected by wind, wave and tidal activities, similarly provide additional 
enhancement of the evolutionary process. Preferably, the geographic 
latitude of a chosen environment, submerged liquid flow velocities at a 
depth not substantially in excess of eight feet, ambient temperature 
ranges, and the length of daily exposure time to these parameters should 
fall generally within the range of temperate zone conditions that prevail 
along the Central Atlantic coast of the United States at any time during a 
given year; desirable representative conditions occur typically at 
Stevensville, Md. in the vicinity of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. 
The nutrient paste mix formed, for example, of refined lanolin and calcium 
carbonate powder in accordance with this invention, is utilized to begin 
the process of husbanding marine growth, by coating it onto the surface of 
a suitable organic substrate support such as corn cobs or dam or oyster 
shells, and then submerging the coated substrate supports in an aqueous 
medium under the conditions herein disclosed. It has been found that 
submergence and subsequent desired growth are preferably facilitated by 
enclosing the coated substrate support materials in a confining "nutrient 
cage" and lowering the filled cage to the desired depth in the aqueous 
medium. Submergence of the filled nutrient cage may be accomplished 
desirably within the confines of a commercial-type crab pot. The "nutrient 
cage" may be most desirably formed of plastic coated wire with a mesh size 
on the order of one-inch square. The size of the crab pot allows 
positioning one or more wire mesh additional interior walls within a 
standard-sized two cubic-foot crab pot along with the nutrient cage, to 
provide additional surface area for evolutionary marine life growth as 
described in the following. 
The configuration of the wire mesh structure provides for maximum surface 
area exposure to water circulation and allows for substantially unimpeded 
liquid flow past the wire mesh structure in the direction of three 
orthogonal axes. The crab pot structure has been found to provide an 
environment that allows marine growth to adhere in an array that 
facilitates and enhances the proliferation of such growth in the most 
desirable manner. In FIG. 2 of the drawings, a nutrient cage 10 having a 
generally three dimensional rectangular or cylindrical shape 12 is shown 
enclosed within the lower portion 14 of a commercially available crab pot 
16. Crab pot 16 may be provided with an opening having a movable cover 22 
of know design to facilitate insertion and removal of cage 10. In FIG. 2 
of the drawings, it can be seen that the wire mesh structure 18 of the 
cage 10 is of a substantially standard rectangular or square grid shape. 
It can for example, have a 1 inch square grid dimension. In the 
illustrated embodiment, a wire mesh interior wall 20 is positioned within 
crab pot 16 along with the nutrient cage 10. A common type of commercially 
available crab pot may enclose an interior volume of two cubic feet, and 
the interior walls 20 may be formed of the same wire mesh material as the 
outer walls of the pot. For such a crab pot, the nutrient cage typically 
may be in the form of a cylinder 10 inches tall and 4 inches in diameter. 
While the mesh shape of the pot commonly is 2 inch hexagon-shaped plastic 
coated wire mesh, the walls of the nutrient cage may be formed of 
plastic-coated wire mesh having a 1 inch square configuration. Although 
these specific shapes and forms have been illustrated, it should be 
understood that other shapes and forms of both the wire mesh and the cage 
as well as the crab pot, may be adopted within the scope of this 
invention. 
It has further been found that plastic coated wire mesh is a preferred 
material for construction of both the nutrient cage and the walls of the 
crab pot; this material provides an advantageous surface for the 
attachment of evolving marine growth in submerged conditions of the type 
herein disclosed. In this regard, 18 gauge wire has been found to be a 
preferred construction material for the mesh. 
It has also been found that nutrient cages prepared and placed in 
accordance with the processes and conditions herein disclosed, will, after 
approximately two weeks of submergence, develop a mucous-like growth 
disposed along portions of the structure of the cage. The mucous-like 
growth is believed to be directly attributable to the nutrient mix within 
the cage. In turn, the growth acts as an incubator and host that enhances, 
encourages and protects the activity of ecological opportunities that 
result in the evolution of zoo plankton and/or phytoplankton throughout 
the 12-month annual cycle in the conditions herein disclosed and 
described. Zooplankton appear to be more active at the lower end of the 
temperature range for these conditions, while phytoplankton appear to be 
more active as temperatures increase toward the upper end of the range. 
Although specific embodiments of this invention have been described and 
illustrated herein, it will be obvious to those of skill in this art that 
various other fully equivalent embodiments consistent with the invention 
are possible and made evident within the scope of this disclosure.