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On!behalf!of!The!Coastal!Alliance!for!Aquaculture!Reform!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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Table!of!Contents!
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1.!Introduction ........................................................................................................................................... 1!
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2.!Study!Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 2!
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3.!Trends!in!Aquaculture!........................................................................................................................... 3!
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4.!Techno logies!and!their!Deploy ment ................................ ................................................................ ...... 6!
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5.!Species!Grown!Using!Closed!Containment!Aquaculture ..................................................................... 38!
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6.!Volume!and!Value!o f!Fish!Grown! in!Clos ed!System!Aq uaculture ........................................................ 42!
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7.!Overview!of!Factors!Influencing!the!Economics !of!CSA....................................................................... 49!
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8.!Assessment!of!Key!Ecological!Interactions .......................................................................................... 52!
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9.!Environment al!L ife!Cycle!and! Energy!Issues ................................................................ ........................ 59!
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10.!Summary!–!Account!of !Strengths!and!Challenges! of!Each!Technology ............................................. 61!
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11.!Conclusions ........................................................................................................................................ 64!
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12.!Glossary.............................................................................................................................................. 66!
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13.!Company!Directory ................................................................ ................................ ............................ 67!
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14.!References!a nd!web‐pages ................................................................................................................ 71!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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1. Introduction!
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EcoPlan!Internati onal!was!retained! by!the!David!Suz uki! Foundation!and!the!Ge orgia!Strait! Alliance!to! provide!a!
review! of! comme rcial! clos ed! system! aquaculture! (CSA)! techn ologies! throughout! the! world ,! e mphas izing! those!
technologies! and! species! most! relevant! to! Brit ish! Columbia.! The! focus! of! the! report! is! on! finfish,! though! it! is!
acknowledged!that!considerable!literature!and!succ essful!examples!exist!for!the!use!of!closed!system!aquacultu re!
for! growing! seaweeds, ! shel lfish,! crustaceans, ! and! other! invertebrate! spec ies, ! as! well! as! for! pharmaceutical!
production.!!
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Thi s!re por t!was!c ompiled!to!provide!information!to!aid!in!assessing!th e!economic!a nd!technical!growth !potential!
of!aquaculture!in!the!CSA!sector. !It!looks!at!a!variety!of!technologies !and!metho ds!used !in!commercial !production!
as!well!as!several!emerging!technologies,!highligh ting!some!of!the!major!advantages!and!disadvantages!of !each.!!
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The! study! demons trates! that! numerous! examples! exist! around! the! world! of ! commercially! successful! CSA!
operations!where!finfi sh!are!grown!to!harvest!size.!!The !major!fish!are!Nile!tilapi a!(Oreochromis*niloticus),!trout!
(Oncorhynchus* mykiss),! Arctic! char! (Salnelinus* alpinus),! Atlantic! halibut! (Hippo glossus* hipp oglossus),! turbot!
(Scopt halmu s* m aximus )
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,! barra mundi! (Lates* calcarifer)
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,! seabream !(Sparus* aurat a)
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* an d! sea! bass! (Centropristis*
stri ata )* whi le! other! species! ar e! important! in! specifi c! locations,! such ! a s! eel! (Anguilla* anguilla)! in! Euro pe,! and!
catfish!(Ictaluru s*punctatus)
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!in!the!United!States.!Determining!productio n!levels!for!fish!reared!in!CSA!is!difficult!
as!trade !data!doe s!not !g enerally!disaggregate!between!pen!or!net!farmed!and!CSA!farmed!fish .!Wh ile!in!Europe !
individual! countries! will! place ! ‘eco‐l abels’! to! identi fy! their! CSA ! fa rmed! fish,! they ! ar e! not! distinguished! in! trad e!
information.! ! Some ! fish ,! such! as! trout! (Oncorhynchus* mykiss)! and! turbot! (Scopthalmus* max imus)! are! alm ost!
ubiquitously! farm ed! in! C SA;! however! others,! such! as! seabream,! can! be! either.! ! Also,! countries! such! as! the!
Netherlands!employ!CSA!for!all!farmed! fish!regardles s!of!species!d ue!to!legislation! and!environmental!regulations.!!
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The!report!was!compile d!thr ough!a!se ries!of!literature!searches!in!acad emic!and!professional!journals;!web‐based!
and!datab ase!searches,!a nd!thro ugh!intervi ews!with!both!commercial!companies!and!researc hers.!!The!study!was!
also! restricted! to! literature! th at! was! available! in! E nglish! and! interviews! favoured! those! individuals! who! had! a!
commercial! perspective!as! wel l!as! research! knowledge.!!This! st udy!cannot!th erefore!be! taken!as ! an!exhaustive!
account! of! CSA.! To! avoid! confusion! with ! respec t! to! colloquial! names,! Latin! names! are! pro vided! alongside!
colloquial!names.!A!glossary!has!also!been!included!in!the!report!for!reference.!!In!the!case!that!Latin!names !are!
not!known, !the!colloquial!name!is!gi ven!with!reference!to !the!geographic!location!of !its!use .!All!units!have!been!
converted! to! metric! and! all! currency! is! in! US! doll ars, ! unless! otherwise! stated.! Also,! note! that! US! currency! has!
fluctuated!dra matically!over!the!past!year.!All!costs!in!US!figures!are!therefore!taken!as!an!average!of!the!local!US!
cur rency!conversion!rate!for!the!year!of!public ation!usin g!www.oanda.com/convert/fxhistory.!
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!Note!that!there!several!different!spe cies!of!turbot!including!the!Pacific,!Greenland!and!Eu ropean!(Psetta*maxima).!The !
Psetta*maxima!is!the!most!common!an d!us ually!referred!to! as!Scophthalmus*maximus!in!trade!literature!and!industry!
publications.!!
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!Also!known !as!Asian!seabass.!
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!There!are!over!125!species!in!the!Sparidae!family.!The!m ost!common!of!these!“breams”!for!food!fish!is!the!Gilt‐head!
seabream!(S parus*aurata).!
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!Otherw ise!k nown!as!the!Channel!cat fish.!Other!species!of!cat fish! are!refer red!to!in!this!rep ort!–!see!glossary.!!
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2. Study!Overview!
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The!objective!of!this!study! is!to !provide!an!overview!of!the!current!status!of!closed!co ntainment!aquaculture!with!
a! focus! on! technologies.! This! include s! technical! speci fications! of ! systems! in! commercial! producti on! as! well! as!
experimental! stages,! economic ! statistics! related! to! the! volume! and! value! of! production,! an d! ec ological!
implications!as!well!as!life!cycle!d emands!associa ted!with!closed!cont ainment!systems.!This!study!concentrates!on!
finfish ! where! production!cycles! include! harvesting ,!though!it! notes!severa l!well!kn own!species,! such! as!Atlantic!
salmon!(Salmo*salar),! are!raised!in!CSA!until! a! c ertain! point!in!th eir! development!when!they!are! transferred!to!
net‐cages! or! net‐pens .! Par ticular! emphasis! was! given! to! those! examples ! most! suitable! to! the! physical,!
demographic!and!economic!climate!of !Brit ish!Columbia.!!Consequently,!focus!was!given!to!examples!from!ot her!
me mber!co unt ries!of!the!Organi zation! for!Economic!Cooperation!and!Development!(OECD),!and!in!particular!in!
Western!Europe,!Australia,!an d!North!America .!!!
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For!the!purposes!of!this!study,!closed!system!aquaculture!(CSA )!is! defined!as:!
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‘Any!system!of!fish !production!that!creates!a!contro lled!interface!betwe en!the!culture!(fish )!and!the!
natural!environment.’!
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The!Unite d! N ations! Food!and! Agricult ure ! Organis ation! (FAO)! sees! little!possibility! to! increase! supply! from! wild!
captur e!fisheries!to!meet!g rowing!demand!for!fish!protei n! (FAO,!2006).!Approximately,! 75%!of!the!world’s !fishing!
gro unds! are! fully! exploited,! over!exploited!or ! severely! depleted.! Experience!from! catch! fisheries! show! that! for!
both! pelagic! and! demersal! spe cies! almost! all! major! fisheries! hav e! expe rienced! a! shift! from! high‐gra de! to! low‐
grade! fish! (Pau ley, ! 1998).! Even! as! wild! fisherie s! productivity! declines! as! a! result! of! over‐fishing! and! other!
anthropogen ic! stres ses! on! the! ma rine! environment,! the! global! demand! for! seafood! contin ues ! to! grow,! and!
aquaculture!can !make!a!positive! contributi on!to!meet!increase d!market!demand!(Tidwell,!20 01;!Garcia,!2005).!!
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3. Trends!in! Aquaculture!
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Aquaculture! h as! gr own! enormously! over! the! last! 50! years,! prod ucing! 60! mil lion! Mt! of! produ ct! in! 2004! wit h! a!
value!of!US$70!billion!(FAO,!2006).!Over!the!las t!t hree!decades,!aquaculture!worldwide!exp erienced!11%!annual !
gro wth,!and!currently!provides!about!o ne!thir d!(40!million!Mt)!of !glo bal!fisheries!production!(N aylor,!2005).!Asia!
and!the!Pacific!Region!a cco unt !for!92%!of!global!production;!China!alo ne!being!responsible!for!70%!(FAO,!2 006).!
Aquaculture!is!varied!throughout!the!world;!Ea st!Asia!being !r esp ons ible!for!the!majority!of!shellfish,!crustaceans,!
and!p lant!p rod uction;!Central!and!Eastern!Europe!for!carp!(Cyprinus*carpio),!West ern!Europe,!Chile!and !Canada!
for!sa lmonids,!and!the!US!for!catfi sh!(Ictalurus*punctatus),!(FAO, !2006).!Finf ish!account!for!a ppr oximately !half!of!
all! aquaculture! yields,! whi le! algae! and! invertebrates! account! for! a! quarter! eac h! (FAO,! 200 1).! Pro duction! is!
dominate d! by! freshwater! fis h! and! aquatic! plants! (FAO,! 2006);! marine! and! diadromous! fish! spec ies! account! for!
only!5.3%!of!the!world’s!total!production,!but! command!14.2%!of! the!world!total!farmed! values!(F AO‐STAT,!2007).!
Our!findings!show!that!the!vast!majority!o f!commercial!production!of!finfish!in!OECD!coun trie s!is!based!o n!open!
systems;! the! exact! number! is! difficult! to! defin e! as ! production! and! trade! figures! ar e! generally! not! classified! as!
open‐system!or!CSA.!!
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While!aquacultu re!h as!grown!rapidly,!increase!has!slowed!in!recent!years !(Funge‐Smith,!2001).!There!are!growing!
opportunities!to!impl ement!new!technologies,!new!species,!and!deve lop!new!areas,!such!a s!Sout h!America!and!
Africa!(Funge‐Smith,!2001).!!Innovations!and!proven!technologies!for!closed!systems!are!being!applied!in!parts!of!
the!world! such ! as!Benin,!where!Hesy! Aquacutlure! has! recentl y!built! an! African! catfish! ( Clarias*gariepinus)!farm!
(Debon,!2 007a).!!
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An! examination! o f! existing! CSA! reveals! a! large! and! complex! range! of! technologies! and! methods! with! no! clear!
distinction! in! terms! of! treatment! for! bo th! incoming! and! effluent! waters.! ! Th ey! all! however,! include! a! physical!
barrier! between! the! culture! (fish)! and! the! natural! environ ment.! These! include! everything! from! pon d! and! ditch!
systems!(possibly!the!ea rliest!form !of!closed!sy stem!aqua culture),!to!constructed!impermea ble!systems,!su ch!as!
raceways! or! tanks.! CSA! systems! include! those! using! a! one! time! flow‐through! of! water ! with! var ying! degrees! of!
input! and! output! water! treatment! methods,! to! fully! ‘recirculating’! systems! where! water! is! largely! reused! (also!
known! as! Recirculating! Aquac ulture! Systems! (RAS)).! Geo graphically,! these! systems! are! found! everywhere! from!
lan d!locked!urban !centres!to!sea‐based!tanks. !!Syst ems!may !de pend!on!municipal!water!systems,!ground water,!
lakes!or!rivers,!and!the!ocean.!This!range!and!diversity!of!existing!and!em erging!technologies!is!a!p romising!sign!
for! the ! possib ility! of! c losed! systems! to! be! success full y! adapted! to! meet! specific! geog raphic! conditions! a nd!
respond!to!social!conditio ns!such!as !consume r!demand,!po licy!and!legislation.!!
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Modern!CSA,!a nd!RAS!in!particular,!ha ve!been!use d!f or!commercial!production!of!eels!for!over!20!years!in!Euro pe.!
However,!it!has !only!bee n!since!the!late!1980’s!that!researchers!and!civil!society!groups!in!North!Am erica!have!
increased!their!efforts!to!lobby !governme nts!to!support!the!developmen t!of!appropriate!aquaculture!technology!
including! CSA! for! finfish! in! general .! In! North! Ame rica,! most! commercial! CSA! for! ‘g row‐ou t’! or ! ‘sta rt! to! finish’ !
finfish !produ ction!is!dedicate d!to!trout, !catfish,!Arctic!char!and!more!recently,!tilapia!species.!!
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Because! the! technologies,! species ! and! local! situations! vary! so! markedly,! it! is! difficu lt! to! ascribe ! defin itive!
strengths!and!challenges!of!CSA!systems.!Clearly,!two!of!the!ubiquitous!and!paramount!strengths!of!CSA !are!the!
separation! of! the! fish! cul ture! from! the! environment,! and! the ! potential! for! control! of! inputs! and! outputs.! With!
these! in! min d! the! challenges! a nd! strengths! must ! be! balanced! together! to! determine! appropriate! choices! of!
technology!and!species!for!aquacult ure!production.!In!general,!therefore,!the!strengths!of!CSA!are:!
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• Potential!to!control !growing!c onditions:!including!temperature,!water!ch emistry!and!turbidit y,!d isease,!
etc.!!
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• Stress!reduction!fro m!control!of!predation,!disease,!growing!conditio ns!(no! temperature!or!water!
chemistry !flu ctuations).!
• Potential!to!i nfluence!growth!cycles:!including!shortened!time!to!harvest,!size!of!the!spec ies,!quality!of!
product,!as!well!as!optimum!harvest!po ints!an d!ability!to!pl an!for!harvest;!better!feed!consu mption!and!
control!of!metaboli c!rates.!
• Better!Feed!Conversion!Ratios!(FCR) :!due!to!gr eater!c ont rol!of!growing!conditions!and!life!cycles,!as !we ll!
as!water!movement.!This!means!less!feed!is!lo st!a nd!thus!nutrient!production!form!lost!f eed!is!minimised.!
• Greater!versatility:!options!for!pr oduction!locatio n,!nearness!to!market,!mar ginal!lands,!etc.;!production!
can!be!tai lored!t o!take!advantage!of!local!situatio ns!such!as !water!tempe rature,!wa ter!quality,!sk illed!
lab our ;!ability!to!respond!to!demographic!and!consu mer!sh ifts!(some !sys tems!are!capable!of!growing!
different!species!–!or!can!be!easily!transforme d;!potenti al!for!enhanc ing!technology.!
• Control!of!outputs!and !effluents:!treatmen t!and!the!possibi lity!of!reuse!as!fertil izer!or! input!for! oth er!fish!
systems!(in!integrat ed!aquaculture). !
• Risk!re duction:!including!climate ,!infection!and!disease,!predation,!etc.!
• Reduction!in!certain!di rect!operational! costs:!associated!with!f eed!an d!disease!control!from!vaccinations!
and!antibiotics.!
• Potential!for!‘clean! pro duct’:!produc ed!without!hormones,!antibiotics!etc.;!produced!in!environmentally!
friendly!way; !green!and!organ ic!labelling.!
• Longer!average!life!of!tanks!and!equipment!(versus!n ets)!all owing! for! longer!am ortisation!periods.!
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The!ge neral!chal lenges!are :!
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• Increase!in!capital!cost s:!research!and!development!can!be! cos tly;!system!start‐up!is!higher!than!net‐pen!
operations.!
• Increase!in!certain!dire ct!operational!costs:!usually!a!higher!cost!a ssociated!with!certa in!inputs!such!as !
oxygen!and!maintenan ce!costs!associated!with!chemical!balances !of!the!water!(no te:!some!flow‐throu gh!
systems!base d!on!groundwater!sources!don’t!require!any!input s!or!water!treatment),!c areful!water!
monitoring,!energy!requirements!(depending!on!the!technology),!input‐output !water!treatment!
requirements!(these!are!associated!with!high!den sity !farming).!
• Complexity!of!technology:!particularly!with!regards!to!maintaining!water!environment!and!with!the!use!of!
bio‐filters!in! RAS.!
• Risks:!!potential!for!rapid!chemis try!alterations,!dependency!on!monitoring! (again, !this!in creases!with!
increased!fish!densities).!!
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While!proponents!of!CSA!consider!it!an!advance!towards!sustainable!fin fish!aquacul ture,!they!acknowledge!there!
are !environmental!and!social!issues!surrounding!all!fo rms!of!aquaculture!such!as!those!relating!to!the !capture!of!
wild!fisheries!for!feed,!energy!usage!and!the!associated!greenh ouse!gas ! emis sions,!amongst! others.!!The!soci o‐
ecological! ‘footprint’! (or! fi sh‐print),! which! is! the! over all! material! and! energy! throughput! associat ed! with! fish!
production,!nee ds!to!be!considered!and!balanced!when!exploring!CSA !opt ions.!!Nevertheless,!CSA!does!add ress!
ma ny!of!the!environmental!ef fects!of!open‐pen!farming! in!the!Pacific!Northwest!that!have!be en!well!documented!
and!acknowledged!by!policy!makers! (Phillips,!2005;!Bro oks,!2 002;!Buttner,!1992;!Naylor,!20 03) .!Many!aquaculture!
operations!around!the!world!have!ca used!h abitat!destructio n,!water!pollutio n,!parasitic!infec tions!of!wild!stock,!
and! unintentio nal! introductions! of! non‐native! species.! Increasin gly,! social! concerns! and! environmental! impacts!
associated! with! the! aquacu lture! industry! have! resulted! in! media! cam paigns! discouraging! the! consumpt ion ! of!
farmed!seafood!(Barrington,!2005).!!
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Par t!of!what!is!likely!to!driv e!the!increas ed!use!of!CSA!is!con sumer!demand!and!stakeholder!aw areness.!!In!the!
EU,! regulations! are! increasingly! s trong! regarding! what! is! acceptable,! both! in! terms! of! e nvironmental! impact! as!
well! as! animal! welfare! !(van! Eijk ,! 2007).! Co nsume r! trends! indicate! an! increasing! co ncern! for! health! issues! and!
environment ally! sou nd! raised! se afood! (van! Eijk,! 2004;! Romuel,! 2007).! Speaking! at! the! Profet! Aquaculture!
Workshop! in! 2004,! the! General! Secretary! of! the! Dutch! Association! of! Fish! Farmer s,! Wim ! van! Ejik! comme nted!
“Fish! farming! is!still! developing!and!so!we!take!into!account!‘from! the! beginning’! the!de mands ! associated! with!
food! safety,! animal! welfare! and! the! environment”! (van! Eijk,! 200 4).! ! In! Europe,! one! of! the! major! driving! for ces!
behind! CSA! is! consumer! demand! for! a! product! that! con tains! no! additives,! hormones,! antibiotics! etc.! and! is!
produced! in! a! sustain able! way! (van! Eijk, ! 2007).! In! the! Netherlands,! for! instance,! environmental! and! so cial!
concerns! are! reflect ed! in! policy! and! legislation! such! that! 100% ! of! aquaculture! is! CSA,! an d ! due! to! water!
constraints,!based!on!recirculatin g!aquaculture!systems!(Debon,!2007 a).!To!encourage! adoption!and!development!
of!these!new!technol ogies!the!EU !has!assisted!financially!with!grants,!subsidies!and!tax!inc entives!(van!Ei jk,!2007;!
Øiestad,!2007a). !
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Bio‐safety,! in! terms! of! cont roll ing! disease! and! maintaining! genetic! diversity! in ! fi sh! populations,! is! becoming!
increasingly!prominent!in !policy!development,!and!emerged!as!a!major!theme!at!the!6
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!International!Conf erence !
on! Recirc ulating! Aquaculture,! Virginia! (July,! 2006).! While! this! has! alw ays! be en! an! issue,! the! intensification! of!
aquaculture!pro duction!means!that!this!is !becoming!of!pa ramount!importanc e!(Schi pp,!2006).!CSA!addresses!bio‐
safety!concer ns!thro ugh!control!aspects!r ega rding!b oth !input!and!output!and!the!separation!for!the!fish!culture!
from!the!natural!en vironment.!!
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Albright! (2007),! a! small! producer! of! fresh! water! Sockeye! sal mon! (Oncorhynchus* nerka)! and! Rainbow! trout!
(Oncorhynchus*mykiss)!in!Langley!(BC),!predicts!th at!switching!from!co nventional!sa lmon!farming!in!ocean‐based!
net‐pens!to!encl ose d!inland!freshwater!ones!wou ld!have!signif icant!positive!ou tcomes:!!
• Dis ease‐!and!antibiotic‐free
:!Unlike!conventional!c ommercial!fish!farms,!freshwater!fish!farms!rarely!use!
antibiotic s!and!other!chemical!therapies!because!their!ground‐based !wa ter!sources!do!not!have!co mmon!
pathogens.!
• Improved!public!pe rception!of!fish!f arming
:!In land!and!ground water‐fed!fish!fa rms!are!not!mired!in!the!
controversy!t hat!shrouds!ocean‐based!fish!farming.!Recent!research!don e!by!scientists!at!Simon!Fraser!
Univer sity!an d!elsewhe re!demonstrates!that!ocean‐b ased!fish!farming!br eeds!sea!lice!in!numbers!that!kill!
nearby!juven ile!wild!sa lmon.!
• Sm aller!ecological!f oot prin
t:!While!o cean‐based!fish!farms!cover!several!kilometres!of! sea coast,!a!typical!
freshwater!farm!occupies!no!more!than!five!acres!of! land.!
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Control!Elements!
Minor!Control!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!Major!Control!
Input!Water!!!
Effluent !Water!!!
Culture! in!contact!with!
natural!environment!!!
Water!Temperat ure!
4. Technologies! and!their!Deployment!
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Description!of!technology!and!terminology!!
There! are!a! variety! of!classification! s yste ms! and! nomenclature! r ega rding!CSA!technologies.!For!the ! purposes!of !
this! study,! we! have! classifi ed! the! spectrum! of! closed! system! aqua culture! techn ologies! based! on:! 1) ! degree! of !
control!over!input!and!output!water s;!2)!shape/la yout!of!system;!and!3)!location!of!instal lation.!!
1)!Degree!of!control!of!input!and!output!waters!
While!all!CSA!systems!have!a!barrier!between!the!culture!(fish) !and!the!natural !environment!in!terms!of!individual!
fish,!they!vary!in!terms!of !control!with!respe ct!to!input !waters!and!output!wastes, !and!with!re gard!to!water!use!
(Figure!1).!
Figure'1:'Generalized'c ont rol'elements' in'flow‐through' (''''''''''') 'and'Recirculating'Aquaculture'Systems' ('''''''''''') '
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Flo w‐thro ugh! systems! allow! wat er! flows! to! enter! the! system,! through! the! tanks! or! holding! areas,! and! exit! the!
system.! ! There! is! a! possib ility! of! complete! control! at ! both ! ends.! Incoming! w ater! is! virtually! always! treated! for!
bacteria,!parasites,!and!disease,!and!outgoing!water!is!treated!to!greater!and!lesser!extents!(Folke,!1998;!Miller,!
2002;!Piedrahita,!2003;!BMP,!2 004).!!Often,!treated!effluent!water!is!recir culated!back!to!into!the!system.!!W hile!
there! is! n o! clear! rule! for! nomenclature,! when! approximately! 60‐70%! of! this! wate r! is! rec irculated,! it ! becomes!
classified!as!RAS!(Blancheton,!2000;!Queensla nd,!2007;!Schuenhoff,!2 003;!Troell,!2003).!S ome!systems!recircu late!
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more! than! 95%! of! their! wa ter,! essentially! replenishing! for! evaporation! and! leakage! (Debon,! 2007a;! Desbarats,!
2007).!!!
Ponds!and!channels!are!considered!as!closed!systems!in!that!while!the!fish!and!their!holding!environ ments!are!i n!
contact!with!soi l!and!t he!ground!they!are!free!from!traditional!predators,!cannot!escape!to!mix!with !wild!s pecies,!
and!any!diseases!generated!in!their!enclosures!can!be!contained.!!Water,!and!thus!contaminants!can!seep!into!the!
soil!and!grou ndwater!(Boyd,!1999).!!
2)!Shape!/layout!of!the!system!!
!
CSA!systems!exist!in!a !multitude!of!dif ferent!sh apes!depending!o n!species!and!scale.!D iffe rent!physical!structures!
determine! hydrodynamic! flow,! area! and! volume,! all! of! which! may! be! species! dependant.! Tanks! ar e! large!
structures,!usually !roun d!for!strength,!and!can!be!abov e!ground,!below!ground!or!suspended!in!oceans!or!lakes.! A!
high!water!vo lume!to!containe r!surface!area!is!a!common!characteristic!of!tank s.!Ponds!are!analogous!to!ta nks,!
but!dug!in!the!ground!with!no!impermeabl e!barrier.!!!
!
Racew ays! are! longer ! structures,! so metimes! hu ndr eds ! of! meters,! w here! while! water! flows! through! them,! the!
residency! time! of! water! in! any! one! spot! being! very! sma ll.! ! A! low! water! v olume! to! c ont ainer! surface ! area!
characterizes!them.!!This!is!appropriate!for!certain!species,!such!as!trou t,!which!thrive!in!a!simulated!stream!fl ow,!
and!flat!fish,!such!as!flounder!or!s ole,!w hich!need!large!surface!areas.!Channels!are!analog ous!to!raceway s!dug!in!
the!ground.!This !is!t he!main!method !of!producing !catfish!in!the!US.!!
!
Shape! will!also!determine!treatm ent! mechanisms!while!residence ! time ! of!water!will!demand!different!fo rms!of!
treatment,!as!will!species.!
!
Figure'2:'Seven‐level'shall ow'tanks'for' sole'(S olea'solea)'producti on'at'Sole a'BV'in'Th e'Netherlands'(Photo*
credit:*Albert*Imsland,*Akvaplan‐niva)*
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3)!Location!on!land!or!in!open!water!
!
CSA!technologies!can!be!found!in!almost!any !locat ion.!Most!are!on!land!as!tanks,!ponds,!raceways,!and!channels.!
Others!are!in!ope n!water,!either!ocean!or!fr eshwater,!and!are!flow‐through!tank s.!There!are,!however,!exceptions!
to!these!especially!as!new!technologies!continue!to!emerge.!!Als o,!unless!explicitly!stated,!all!spec ies!are!grown!i n!
their! n ative! environments,! for! example! Rainbow! trout! (Oncorhynchus* mykiss)! are! gene rally! river! fish! and! thus!
raised!in!freshwater.!
!
Summary!of!findin gs!for!general!t y p es!of!CSA!
Table'1:'Description'of'technology'a nd'examples'
Systems/Descriptio n!
Example!Use:!
Location/!region:!
Land‐Based:!
Raceways!(recirculating!or!flow‐throug h)!
Trout!(On corhynchus*mykiss)!
US, !Spain, !France!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus*max ima)!
Spain,!(Akvaplan‐Ni va,!
Stolt!S ea!Farms)!France,!
Denmark!(UNI‐Aqva )!
Seabass!(Cen tropris tis*striata)!
Fra nce!
Chann el!c atfi sh!(Ictalurus*
punctatus)*
USA!
!
Modern!raceway!systems!are! made!from!a!
variety!of!materials:!co ncrete,!plastic,!steel;!can!
be!either!out door!or!indoor;!grav ity!fed!by!a!
stream;!partially!or!fully!recirculating .!!
Sol e!(Sole a*solea),!Japanese!
flounder!(Paralichthys*
olivaceus)!!
Spain,!Denmark! !
Recirculating!Tanks!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus* maxima)!
Netherlands!(HE SY)!
Tilapia!(O reochromis*niloticus)!
El!Salv ador,!Israel!(HESY)!
Eel!(Anguilla*anuilla)!
Denmark!(produces!20%!
eel!consumed!by!
European!Market)
5
,!
Croatia!and!Netherl ands!
(HESY)!
Barramundi!(Lat es*calc arifer)!
Australia,!USA,!R ussia,!The !
Netherlands,!Israel,!
Denmark,!UK!!
Jade!perch!(Scor tum*barcoo)!
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
Golden!perch!(Macquaria*
ambigua) !
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
Murray!cod!(Ma ccu llochel la*
peelii*peelii)!!
Australia!(HE SY)!
Sleepy!cod!(Oxyeleotris*
lineolatus)!
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
!
Tanks!can !come! in!a!variety!of!forms .!Circular!
formats!have!been!preferred!in!man y!cases!
because!of!the!self‐ cleaning!properties!they!
provid e.!Poly gon!shapes,!howeve r,!have!
advantages!in!being!more! spa ce!efficient.!These!
systems!are!often!modular!and!scalable,!
allowing!produc ers! to!scale‐up!syste ms! at!their!
own!pace!and!w ithout! having!to! interrupt!
operations!to!add!greater!cap acity.!Inland!
recirculating!tanks!are!often!loca ted!where !there!
is!both!limited!land!and!wate r!availability,!as!
they!can!be!loca ted!in!industrial!areas!and!
achiev e!high! degree s!of!water!reuse.!!
Bla ck!r ock fish!(Sebastes*
schelegeli )!
Korea!(Schipp,!2006)!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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!http://www.1planet1oc ean.org/html/sustainable‐aquaculture.html!!
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Pike!perch!(Sander*luci operca)!
Netherlands!
Seabass !(Centr opr istis*striata)!
Greece!(HESY)!
Seabream!(Sparus*aurata)!
Greece!(HESY)!
Trout!(On corhynchus**mykiss)!
Chile!( HESY)!
African!catfis h!(Clar ias*
gariep inus)!
Benin!(HESY) !
!
Sturgeon!(Acipenser*
transmon tanus)!
Greece!(HESY)!
Flow‐through!Tanks!
Arc tic!char!(Salvelin us*alpinus)!
Canada!(Icy!Wat ers),!
Iceland.!
Flo w‐thro ugh!tanks! come!in!similar!formats!as !
recirculating!tanks.! These!however!a re!more!
commonly!found!w here!reliable!water!sources!
are !available!and!used! to!harvest!species!that!
require!certain!conditions!(i.e.!trout ).!
Trout!(On corhynchus*mykiss)*
Europe,!N.!Amer ica, !Chile,!
Latin!America!
Inland!Ponds!and!chan nels!
Chann el!c atfish!(Ictalurus*
punctatus)!
USA!
Tilapia!(O reochromis*niloticus)!
Bel ize,!El!Salvador,!USA,!
Australia!
Trout!(On corhynchus*mykiss)!
Europe,!Australia!and!N.!
America!
Salmon!(Oncorh ynchus*ne rka)!
Canada!(Aqua!Farms)!
Barramundi!(Lat es*calc arifer)!
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
Jade!perch!(Scor tum*barcoo)!
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
Ponds!‐!analogous!to!tanks!but!dug!in!the!
gro und!(natu ral) .!Channels!–!ana logous!to!
raceways!but!in!the!ground!(natural).!!
Occasi onally,!these! can!be!lined!with!
me mbranes!or!mud !but!this!is!generally !not!the!
cas e.!!!!
Golden!perch!(Macquaria*
ambigua) !
Australia!(Ausyfi sh)!
Primarily!Experime ntal!or!De velopment!Stage:!
Flow‐through!Tanks:!Open‐Water!Systems !
Ocean!trout!(Oncorhynchus*
my kiss)!!
Western!Australia!
(McRobert)!
Rai nbow!trout!(Oncorhynchus*
my kiss)!(exp.)!
Nova!Scotia!(SEA)!
Yellowtail!kingfish!(Seriola*
lalandi*la lan di!
Western!Australia!
(McRobert)!
Mulloway!(Sciaena*Antarctica)!!
Western!Australia!
(McRobert)!
Barramundi!(Lat es*calc arifer)!!
Western!Australia!
Coho!salmon!(Oncorhynchus*
kisutch)*(exp.)!
British !Columbia!(SEA!and!
SARGO)!
Bluefin!tuna!(Th unnus* thynnus)!
(exp.)!
Australia!(UNI‐Aqua)!
Gilt‐head!seabream !( Spa rus*
aurata)!(exp.)!
Bal tim ore,!US!(COMB)!
Chinook!salmon!!
(Oncorhynch us*tshawytscha)*
(exp.)!
British !Columbia!(SEA!and!
SARGO)!
These!can!be !found!made! from!a!range!of!
ma teri als,!in!circ ular!as!we ll!as!sq uare!shapes.!
Hard!walled!syst ems!are!generally!made!from!
reinforced!pl astic,!c oncrete,!aluminium.!Soft!
walled!are!m ade!from!plastic.!!
!!
Arc tic!char!(Salvelin us*alpinus )!
Canada!(SEA,!and!SARGO)!
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!
(exp.)!
Bla ck!cod!(Notot henia*
microl epidota)*(exp.)!
Canada!(SEA)!
Walleyed!pike!(Sander* vitreus*
vitreus)*(exp. )!
USA!(Michigan!–!SA RGO)!
Yellowfin!tuna!(Thunnus*
albacares )!(exp.)!
Panama!(SARGO)!
!
Cod!(Gadus*morhua)!(ex p.)!
Denmark!(UNI‐Aqua)!
Flow‐through!Tanks:!Land‐Based!Systems!
Atlantic!salmon! (Salmo*salar)!
(exp.)!
British !Columbia!(Agri‐
Marine)!
Coho!salmon!(Oncorhynchus**
kisutch)*(exp.)!
British !Columbia!(Agri‐
Marine)!
Tank!systems!on!land!pumping!seawater.!
Chinook!salmon!!
(Oncorhynchus**tshaw ytscha)*
(exp.)!
British !Columbia!(Agri‐
Marine)!
Recirculating!Raceways!
Bla ckspotted!seabream!
(Pagellus* bogaraveo)*(exp.)!
Norwa y!
Cod!(Gadus*morhua)!(exp. )!
Norwa y!
Recirculating!racew ays!are!op erated!as!land‐
based! (inl and)!systems.!These!can!be!composed!
of!a!single!level!or!can!be!stacked!to!increa se!
production!per!floor!area!of!a!given!occupied!
space.!
Cal ifornia !halibut!(Paralichthys*
californicus)!(exp.)!
Spain!
!
Status!of!development!and!deployment!of!technologie s !!
!
A! survey! of! existing! and! eme rging! techn ologies! indicates! that! this! is! a! sector! with! a! vibrant! research! and!
development! component.! The! incre asing! global! demand! for! seafood! products! coupled! with! increasing! concern!
over! aquaculture’s! im pact! on! natural! ecologies! (manifest! as! tightening ! regulation! and! consumer! trends)! is!
encouraging!companies!to!invest!in!re search!and!d eve lopment!of!closed!system !technologies.!In!some!cases!such!
as!in!the!EU,!governments!are!responding!with!subsidies!to!explore!and!haste n!the!development!and!uptake!of!
these!techno logies.!As!with!many!new!technologies,!early!adopter s!of!CSA!continue!to!work!to!overcome!both!the!
technical! and! finan cial! challe nges.! ! To! date ,! the! most! consistent! and! notable! successes! to! date! in! commercial !
sca le!c losed!system!aquaculture!for!foo d!fish!production!have!been!achi eve d!by!sy stems!using!species!tolerant!of!
high!density!conditions!and!those!w hich!command!a!premi um !marke t!pr ice!(Lazur,!2007).!!
!
In!Canada!and!the!Un ited!States,!CSA!te chnologies!are!employed !to!culture!a!wide!variety!of!both!warm‐water!
and! cold‐water! fish! in! both! saltwat er! and! freshwater! situations.! Currently,! mos t! commercial! CSA! production!
systems!in!t he!United!Sta tes!are!small,!less!than!45!Mt!(45,000!Kg)!of!production!per!year,!providing!fresh!high!
quality! product! at! premium! prices! to! niche! markets! (Harve y,! 2005;! Lazur,! 200 7).! In! Europe,! commercial!
production!facilit ies!u sing!recirculation!a re!much!larger,!such!as!UN I‐Aqua’s!recently!completed!8000 ‐10,000!Mt/!
year!turbot!(Scopht halmus*maximus)!farm!(Urup,!2007)!in!Denmark.!!
!
The! following! section! des cribes! technologies! curr ently! used! in ! commercial! operations! as! well! as ! several !
demonstration! projects.! This! i ncludes! operators! as! well! as! the! act ual! de velope rs! and! manufacturers! of! the!
technologies.! The! bulk! of! the! information! from! this! section! has! been! derived! from! inte rviews! and! proponent!
websites!as!indicated.!!!
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Land‐Based!Systems:!!
Race‐ways!–!Recirculating!
!
NAME:!
Akvaplan‐Niva,!Shallow!Raceway!System!!!
Norwa y!(Øiestad,!1999;!Øiestad,!2007b)!
SPECIES:*!
11!species!have!been!tested!for!c ommercial!development,!i ncluding!Atlantic!salmon!(Salmo*salar).!
STATUS:!!
Akvaplan‐Niv a!syste ms! have!b een!imple mented!in!commercial!operat ions!using !tur bot !
(Scophthalmus*maximus)!in!Galicia,!Spain!and!Portugal!and!Dover!sole!(Solea*so lea)*in!The!
Netherlands.!On going!lab‐sca le/!pilot!scale!experimental!development!with !Atlantic!halibut!
(Hippoglossus*hipp oglossus),!S potted!wo lfish!(Anarhichas*minor),!S enegal!sol e!(Solea*senegalensis),!
Gilthead!seabream!(Sparu s*aurata),!Califor nia!halibut!(Paralichthys*c alif orn icus)*and!Japanese!
flounder!(Paralichthys*olivaceus).!
DETAILS:!
Thi s!is!a!hyper‐intensiv e!system!designed!to!drastically!reduce!spa ce!require ments! by!stacking!raceways!one!on!
top!of!the!other.!The!outcome!is!a!reported!5‐10!times!higher!production/m
2
!of! surface!area!making!this!system!
ide al!for!use!in!areas!w ith!low!land!avai lability!(Øiestad, !2007b).!R ece ntly,!this!s ystem!has!been!studied!as!a!
possib ility!for!instillation!in!indu strial!park s!for!aqua culture!(IPA).!This!is!proposed !as!an!economic! opportunity!to!
captur e!econ omic!e fficiencies!gained!through! vertica l!integration!“cluste ring”,!f or!instance,!land ings,!processing,!
and!transportati on!to!market! (Øiestad,!200 7b) .!!
!
The!design!of!the!syste m!is!almost!a!sta ndard!raceway!but!with!a!very!low!wate r!level!(1cm!for!100mg!fish!(such!
as!turbot,!halibut!& !seabream)!incre asing!to!20!cm!for!fish!above!2!kg).!Other!characteristics!include:!high!fish!
density!(often!100‐500!Kg/!m
3
),!n o!counter!current!in!the!levelled!raceways!(no!jet!cur rent),!adjustment!of!water!
intake!with!the!most!remote!fish!in!mind!a nd!feeding!with!floating!pellets!(pelleted!feed s!significantly!reduc es!
cost!of!production!by!eliminating!th e!need !to!prepare!feeds!onsite)!(Øiestad,!1999).!This!system!has!been !tes ted!
for!a!wide!size!range!of!racew ays!(7!–!80!m
2
)!and!f ish! sizes!(up!t o!10kg),!normally!with!growth!and!survival!rates!
as!good!as!with!traditional!rearing!systems.!The!results!indicate!that!a!va riet y!of!fish!species!can!be!produced.!So!
far!11!species!have!been!tested,!i ncluding!Atlantic!salmon!( Salmo*salar)!(Øiestad,!2007a).!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
High!fish!densiti es!and!low!energy!costs.!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'3:'Stacked'Racks'in'the'Shallow'Raceway'System'at'Tustna 'Kveite'AS'Facility'in'
Tustna,'Norway '(Photo*credit:*Kurt*Oterhals)'
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!
!
NAME:!
Agassiz!Aqua!Farms!
Manitoba*(w ww .agassizaq uafarms.com )*
SPECIES:*!
Arc tic!char!(Salvelin us*alpinus ),!tr out !(Onco rhynchus*mykiss),!Yello w!perch!(Perc a*flave scens)! !
STATUS:!!
Arc tic!char!–!Commercial!production;! Rainbow!trout!‐!has !been!commercial!in!the!past,!currently!
not!raising!any!significant! volume!for!commercial!production;! Yellow !perch! –!experimental!stage.!!
DETAILS:!
Thi s!fa cility!was!started!in! the!1970’s !as!a!research !centre!fo r!th e!Department!of !Fisheries!and!Oceans!(DFO).
6
!
Arc tic!char!from!this!facility!is !being! sold!acros s!Canada!at!a!current!volume!of!30!Mt/year.!Fish! are!typically!
gro wn!to!1!Kg!but!they!also!produce !several!custom!market!sizes!for!various!clients.!Raising!a!fish!to!1! Kg!
requires!about!24!to!30!months.!They!are!now!trying! to!expand!to! a!capacity !of!150 !Mt /yr!of!Arctic!char!per!ye ar!
as!well!as!developing!a !brood ‐stock!Yellow !perch! (Perca* flavescens)!line.! Water!comes!from!a!limestone!aquifer,!
40!meters !under ground.!Water!exchange!occurs!every!72!hours .!The!company!highlights!the! pro duct!as!being!
antibiotic !fre e.!The!hatchery!has!been!certi fied!disease!free!for !12! yea rs.!While!fing erlings !and!brood‐stock!37 9!
l/!min!of!fres hwater,!water!recirc ulation!us ed!for!grow‐out!stages!reduces!the!water!requirement!to!76!l/min.!!!
!
Effluent!a nd!discharge!treated!in !a!man ‐made!wetland!(which!has !begun!attracting!migra tory!birds).!Solids!are!
separated!through!drum!filtration!and!sett ling!ch amber!then!c omposted!(the!company!is!looking!into!
possib iliti es!to!p repare!and!sell!compos t!commercially).!The!company!is!also! looking!into!options!to!use!
greenhouse!components!to!capture! pas sive!solar!heating!to !heat!water!to!th e!appropriate!temperature!
(depending!on!species).!!
!
Recently,!the!company!has!done!work!with!other! farmer s!to!set!up!a!new!op eration!in!a!converted!hog!barn.!
Thi s!fa cility!will!produce!appr oximately!50! Mt/year!in!a!high!recircula tion!facility!(76!l/mi n).!!
!!!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Long!period!where!fish !have!been!free!of!disease,!and!combined!commercial!and!research!
facility!for!devel oping!new!techn ology.!
!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'4:'View'of'effluent' ponds' at'Agassiz'Aqua'Farms ''
(Photo!co urtesy!of!Agassiz!Aqua!Farms) !
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
6
!The!following!is!taken!from!www.agassizaqu afarms.com!and !conversations!with!J ohn!Bottomley,!Presiden t!of!Agassiz!Aqua!
Farms!(see!Bottomley,!2007).!!
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!
!
Tanks!–!Recirculating!
NAME:!
Aquaculture!Developments!LLC!
Pittsburgh,!Penn sylvania!based.!Excl usive!licensees!o f!UNI‐Aqua!(Denmark)!and!Fish!
Protech,!Pty.! (Au stralia)!in! North!America.!!
SPECIES:*!
Barramundi!(Lat es!calcarif er),!salmon,!trout,!turbot,!sole,!cod,!halibut,!Ja de!perch,!Murray!co d!
(Maccullochella!peelii!peelii),!Sleepy!cod!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
Aquaculture!Developments!is !an!engineering!consult ancy!building!land‐based!circulating!aquaculture!systems.!
They!claim!97‐99%!water!r e‐use!and!feed!conversion!that!is !10! tim es!mor e!efficient!that!in!open !ponds !or!flow‐
through!systems .
7
!No!antibi otics,!hormones! or!other!additives!are!required.!This!tec hnology!h as!been!used!in!
farms!that!have!been!commercially!successful!over!a!15‐year!period.!
NOTABLE!
FEATURES:!!
Long!term!economic!viability!and!very!good!Feed!Conversion!Ratios.! !
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'5:'Interior'of 'barramundi'facility'in'Australia'
*(Photo*courtesy *of*Aquaculture*Developments*LLC)*
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7
!The!following!information!is!tak en!from!www.aquaculturedevelopments.com.!
!
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!
!
!
NAME:!
AquaOptima !No rway!AS!!
Norway*(www.aquaoptima.com)!!
SPECIES:*!
Rai nbow!trout!(Oncorhynchus*m ykiss),!Arctic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus),!tilapia!(Oreoch romis*
nilotic us), !European!sea!bass!(Centropristis*striata),!seabream,!halibut!(Hippoglossus*hippogloss us),!
Atlantic!cod!(to!juvenil e!st age !only),! Japanese!flounder!(Paralichthys*olivaceus),!Tige r!puffe r*
(Takifugu *rubrip es),!barramundi!(Lates*calcarifer),!Black!sea!turbot!(Psett a*maxima).!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
AquaOptima!was!started!in!1993.!It!is!a!sys tem!development,!experimental,!consulting!company.
8
!It!has! built!
commercial!recircul ating!a nd!flow‐through!sys tems!in!16!count ries!for!both!cold!and!warm!water!speci es!such!as!
Rai nbow!trout!(Oncorhynchus*m ykiss),!Arctic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus),!tilapia!(Oreoch romis*niloticus),! European!
seabass!(Centropristis*striata),!seabream,!halibut!( Hippoglossus*hippoglossu s),!Atlantic!cod! (to! juvenile!stage!
only),!Japanese!flounder!(Paralichthys*oliv ace us),!Tig er!puffer*( Takifugu*rubripes),!barramundi!(Lates*calcarifer),!
Bla ck!sea!turbot!(Psetta*maxima).!
AquaOptima!has!designed !and!patented!a!piece!of!equipment!cal led!the!Eco‐tr ap.!The!trap!i s!a!modified!centre!
drain!for!a!fish!tank !that!is !designed! to!r emove !up!to!90%!solids!from!the!tank!using!a!small!amount !of!water.!
The!Ec oTrap!comes!in!a!va riet y!of!siz es!r anging!fro m!110!to!400!mm!but!can!be! des igned!l arger!if!required.!
Waste!col lected!by!the!Eco!Trap!is!diver ted!to!an!‘ Eco‐Sludge’!collector,!located!on!the!side!of!the!tank.!The!‘Eco‐
Slu dge’!is! a!small!swirl!separator. !The!in stallation! of!t he!Eco‐Trap!system!claims!to!allow!for!a!50%!reducti on! in!
the!size!of!mech anical!filtration!in!a!sys tem.!Its!other!advantag es!are!that!it!is!a!passive,!non‐mechanical!syst em!
wit h!little!to!no!cha nce!of! failure!and!reduced!energy!ne eds .!
Recently,!AquaOptima! assisted!with!the!installation!of!a !large!recirculation!syst em!for!barramundi!in!the!UK.! The!
Aqua!Bella!farm!loc ated!in!New!Forest,!Eng land!w as!constructe d!in!20 04!and !is!desi gned!to!produce!400!Mt!of !
barramundi!per! yea r.!Harvesting!from!the!facility!commenced!in!March!2006.!It!is!a!fu lly!recirculated!system!
compr ising!of!48!tanks! maintaining!water!at!28!C!whi lst!treating!three !million!litres !of!water!a!day.!New!water!is!
added!at!the!rate!of!5%!per!day.!In!March!2006!facility!anticipated!expanding!its!facili ty!to!a! 1000!Mt/yr!
production.
9
!The!Aqua!Be lla!farm!near! Southampton,!claims!to!be!environmentally!fr iendly! as!no!wild!stocks!are!
deplet ed!bec aus e!they!also!have!a!hatchery,!there!are!no!additives,!and!the!feed!comes!fr om!sustainable!
sources!(See:!www.aquab.com).!
AquaOptima!have!recently!developed!a !simple!method!for!the!constr uction!of!larg e!octagonal!tanks.!The!use!of!
large!plastic!formed,!lock!in!p lace!panels!that!can !be!cor e!filled!wi th!concrete!offers!an!easily!transportable!and!
cost!effective!soluti on!to!tank!construction.!!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURES:!!
Efficient!and!rapid!was te!disp osa l!system!for!solids.!!This!is!important!as! if!the!s olids!can!be!
removed!before!they!begin!to!break‐down!there!i s!less!need!fo r!water!treatment.!Great!varie ty!
of!types!and!spe cies,!dealing!with!cold!and !wa rm!water!species!requires!different!technology.!
Modular!con cept!al lows!for!expa nsion!as!market!grows!etc.!The!Aqua!Bella!facility!has!used!
their!technol ogy !and!has!prov en!economic!succes s!in !the!UK.!!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
8
!The!following!information!has!been!taken!from!www.aquaoptima.com.!
9
!See.!http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_hb52 45/is_200704/ai_n19860 493!
!
15!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
'
NAME:!
Aquatech !Solutions!
Denmark,!with!offices!in!Chile!and!the!Middle!East!(www.a quatec‐soluti ons.com)!
SPECIES:*!
Eel!(Anguilla*anguilla), !tro ut!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss),!salmo n!(Salmo*salar),!Pike‐perch!(Sander*
lucioperca),!sturgeon!(Acipenser*trans monta nus),!seabass!(Centropristis*striata),!seabream !( no*
species*reference*provided),!turbot!(Scophthalmus *maximus) ,!cod!(no*species*refe rence*provide d),!
Halibut!(no*spec ies*referen ce*provided)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!production!for!eel!(Ang uilla*anguilla),!tr out!(Oncorhynchus*my kiss),!turbot!
(Scophthalm us*maximus),!Pike‐perch!(S ander*luci operca);!exp erimental!for!others.!
DETAILS:!
Aquatech!Solutions !is!a!development!and!i nstalla tion!consulta ncy ,!and!h as!been!in!op eration!for!20!years.
10
!!
They!design!and!ins tall!a!range!of!recirculating!tank!technologi es:!from!flow‐through!to!semi‐closed!and!fully!
closed !sys tems.!Their!p rojects !include:!!
1)!A!700!Mt/year!pan!size!rainbow!trout!production!for!Danish!Aquaculture!A/S!in! Denmark.!!
2)!A!250!Mt/year!Pike‐perch!(Sander*lucioperc a),!produc tion!fo r!Amhedegaard!Aaledambrug!A/S,!Denmark,!!
3)!A!re ‐circulation!system!for!existing!salmon/!trout!incubation!system!for!Patagonia!Salmon!Farming! in!Chile,!!
4)!I nstalla tion!of!3!individual!recirculation! systems!for!partly!existing!and!new!fish! tank!system!for!s molt!
production!of!Atlantic!salmon!(S almo*s alar),!Coho!salmon!(On corhynchus*k isutch)!and!trout!(Onco rhynchus*
my kiss)!at!Super!Salmon!in!Los!Fiordos, !Mano!Negra,!Chile.!!!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Long‐t erm!ec onomically!successful!l arge‐sc ale!production!facilities.!!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10
!The!following!is!taken!from!www.aquatec‐solutions. com.!!
!
16!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Baltim ore!Ur ban!Recirculating!Mariculture!System!
Univer sity !of!Maryland!Biotechnology!Institute,!Center!o f!M arine!Biotechnology.*
(www.umbi.umd.edu),!(Romuel,!2007;!Zohar,! 2007;!Zohar,!2005)*
SPECIES:*!
Gilt‐head!Seabream!(Sparus*aurata).!
STATUS:!!
Currently! experimental,!commercialization!is!anticip ated!in!2008.! Also,!experimentation!with!
Atlantic!salmon! (Salmo*sa lar)!for !out‐gr owth!(full!cycle)!is!scheduled!for!2008.!
DETAILS:!
The!Baltimor e!Urban!Recir culating!Mari culture!System!is!a!r ecirculating,!fully!contained!marine!aquaculture!
system.
11
!The!core!of!the!system!includes!bio logical!filt rati on!units!that! incorporate!naturally!o ccu rring!microbial!
processes!(ni trificat ion!heterotro phic/autotrophic!denitrification,!sulfate!reduction!and!anammox)!to! control!
and!degrade! waste!compo unds!p rod uced!b y!fish!(Zohar, !2005).!Th e!system!collects!and!digests!solid!waste!
products!that!are!derived!directly!from!the!fish!or!by!the!accumulation!of!uneaten!feed!to!fuel!additio nal!
microbial!processes!whose!activi ties!result!in!the! pro duction!of!methane!gas,!w hich!can!be!captured!and!used!as!
a!source!of!energy.!Overall!this!achieves!a!99%!containment!of!effluents! (Romuel,!2007;!Zohar,!2007;!Z ohar,!
2005).!
!
The!system!was!designed!to!p rod uce!high‐value!marine!fish,!to!use!pre‐existing!municipal!infrastructure!and!
services,!to!have !the!ability!to !locate!anywhere,!and!to!maximize!the!re‐use!of!water.!Using!this!syst em,!two!
strains!of! Gilt‐head!seabream !we re!grown!f rom!0.5!to!400!g!commerci al!s ize!in!268!days!(first!strain)!and!to!410!
g!in!23 2!days!(second!strain).!Survival!rates!are!claimed!to!e xce ed!90%!and!food!co nversion!r ates!vary!f rom!0.87!
to!1.89.!Growing!de nsities!ranged!from!44!to!4 7!Kg/m
3
!at!7–10% !daily!water!e xch ange!rates.!Total!ammonia!and!
nitrite!levels! remained!significantly!below!stressful!concentrations!(Zohar,!2005).!The! entire!facility!occupies!
1700!square!metres.!The!total!tank!water!volume! of!t he!faci lity!is!205! m
3
.!Salt!used!for! pro ducing !seawa ter!
accounts!for! about!25%!of!the!total!production!cost!(based!on!a!daily!discharge!an d!renewal!of!10%!of!the!total!
tank!saltwater!volume)!(Zohar,!2004).!
!
The!fact!that!seabream!(Sparus*aurata)!i s!a!non‐in digenous!species!in! North!America!means!that!it!will!be!
allowed!to!be!grown!only!in!fully!contained!and!biosecure!system s!(Romuel,!2007).!Consequently,!future!
production!of!this!s pecies!in!North!America!using!RA S!w ill!not!face!competition!from!pond!or!net‐pen!
production!(Romuel,!2007 ).!!
!
Based! on!experiments!to!date,!it!is!thought !that!the!system!will!be !sui table!for!Atlantic!salmon!(Salmo*salar)!
production.!Tests!on!this!species!are!projected!to!be gin!at!the! start!of!20 08!(Romuel,!2007).!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
High!effluent!cleansing!an d!ability!to!lo cate!in !inner!city!environments.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
11
!Much!of!the!information!includ ed!in!thi s!section!was!tak en!from!www.umbi.umd .edu,!and!from!interview s!with!its!
proponents.!
!
17!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'6:'Exp erimental'Baltimore'Recircula ting'Mariculture'System'(Taken*from*
http://www.umbi.u md.edu*.*Numbered*systems*components*are:*1)*fish*tank,*2)*
particle*removal,*3)*sump*[left]*and*pump*[right],*4)*pH*doser,*5)*temperatur e*
control,*6)*biofil tration,*7) *protein*skimmer,*8)*oxygen*delivery) '
!
!
Figure'7:'Seabream'rearing'tanks'at'the'Bal timore 'Recirculating'Maric ulture'System.'''
*(Taken*from*http://www.umbi.umd.ed u)*
!
!
!
!
18!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Australis!Aquaculture!Ltd.!!
*(www.au stralis.us)*
SPECIES:*!
Barramundi!(Lat es*calc arifer)*
STATUS:!!
Commercial!!
DETAILS:!
The!Australis!Aquac ulture!facility!in! Turner !Falls!(Mass.)!is!the!larg est! indoor !fish!farm!in!the!US.
12
!The!facili ty!is!a!
recirculation!tank!system.!
!
Current!production!in!on!the!ord er!of!1000!Mt /yr!and!delivers!its!product!to!Boston,!but!it!is!hoping!to!increase!
this!to!5000!Mt/yr!with !the!potential!to!export!to!Europe!as!well.! !
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
High!value!exotic!speci es,!bio‐safety,!and!largest!indoor!fish!producer !in!the!US.!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
12
!The!following!is!taken!from! www.austral is.us;!and!personal!commun icati on!with!Josh!Gol dman.!
!
19!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Billund!Aquaculture!Se rvice!ApS!
Denmark*(Schipp,!2006)!
SPECIES:*!
Eel!(Anguilla*anguilla), !tilapia!(Oreochromis*niloticus),!barramundi!(L ates*calca rifer),!seabass!(no *
species*name*provided),!salmon!smolt!( Altl antic)!(Salmo*salar),!trout!(no*species*name*pr ovided )!and!
sturgeon*(no*species*name*provided)!
STATUS:!!
All! commercial!–!producers!of!fish!product !
DETAILS:!
Billund!Aqua culture!has!been !successfu lly!produc ing!eels!for!22!years.
13
!They!operate!in!co‐operation!wi th!
Danish!researchers. !The!fa rms!are!built!on!a!modular!conce pt!to!b e!adde d!onto!without!major!disrupti on!to!
production.!The!modules!are!isolated!from!each!other!which!increases!disease!control!(Schi pp,!2006).!Billund!
has!de signed!two!main !sys tems,!high!intensive !and!intensive,!to!accommodate!different!s pecies.!
!
High*intensive:*
Thi s!design!is!used!for!species!like!eel!and!tilapia!and!also!hatchery!and!fingerling! units!for!both!freshwater!and!
sea‐water !fish.!The!system !has!a!very!low!exchang e!of!new!water!(approx .!130!‐ !260!lit res! /!Kg!fish/!day).!The!
required!i nvestment!level!is!appr oximately!$12,000!p er!Mt!production.!A!complete !100!M t!unit,!including!
equipment!and!buildings!would!cost!$1,200,000.!Electricity!consumption!is!estimated!at!4‐5!kW/!K g!fish.!!
!
Intensive:*
Thi s!sy stem!is!suitable!for!species!such!as!barramundi,!s eabass,!sa lmon!s molt,!trou t!and!sturgeon.!A!higher!
exchange!of!new!water!is!required!a t!a!rate!of!around!800!‐ !1000!litres!/Kg!fish!/day .!The!requ ired!investment!
level!is!approximately!$9,000/!Mt!production.!A!complete!100!Mt! unit!(including!equipment!and!building)!would!
cost!$900,000.!The!estimated!electrical!consumption!is!1.5‐2!kW/Kg!f ish.!!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Low!el ectricity!cons umption,!designs!ac commodate!a!va riet y!of!fis h!species,!modular!design!for!
bio‐safety!(disease!control)!and!for!increased!pro duction!over!tim e!as!market!d eve lops!et c.!!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'8:'Inside'Billund'Aquaculture’s 'sturgeon'farm''
'(Photo*courtesy *of*Billund*Aquaculture ,*20 08)* *
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13
!The!following!is!taken!from! Schi pp!(2006).!
!
20!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Cel l!Aquaculture!Systems!Europe!
The*Nethe rlands*(Schipp,!2006)!
SPECIES:*!
Barramundi!(Lat es*calicari fer) !
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
Cel l!Aquaculture!is!an!Australian!company! started!in!1999!in!Western!Australia.!They!are!an!engine ering!
consultancy!with!experimental!and!commercial!projects.
14
!Ov er!the!past!se ven!years!they!have! researched!and!
developed!the!EcoCell!‘Hatch!to!Dispatch’!recircu lating!system.!This!is!designed!to!be!use d!as!a!low!cost!modular!
system!that!can!be!placed!clo se!t o!large !population!c entres.!Th ey!are!currently!targeting!both!American!and!
European!markets.!One!operation,!loca ted!in!the!Netherlands,!consists!of!16!modular!systems!located!inside!a!
large!shed!that!was!previously!a!chicken!farm.!The!sy stem!is!capable!of!produci ng!66!Mt!of!barramundi!(Lates*
calcarifer),!which!they!believe!is!the!minimum!amount!required!to!m ake !barramundi!production!economically!
viable.!Systems!are! des igned!to!h andle!stockin g!densities!of!up!to!75!Kg/!m
3.
!
!
The!following!ar e!details!of!the!company’s!modular!‘cell’!system!for!barramundi!production.!Each!modular!
system!co mp rises:!
‐ 2!x!10!000 !litre!tanks!and!1!x!4000!lit re!HDPE!tank !
‐ A!mechanical!filter,!which!is!a!home ‐made!belt!filter!fitt ed!with!a!63!µm! screen.!Screens!are!
attached!by!Velcro!and!are!removed!and!cleaned!daily.!
‐ A!moving! bed!reactor!bio‐filter.!
‐ Oxygen!stones,!s upplied!from!an!oxygen!ge nerator.!Oxygen!controlled!manually!to!all!tanks! –!no!
automatic!control.!
‐ 2!x!1!Hp!p um ps!
!
Other!features:!
‐ They!a re!going!to!use!ozone!to!maintain!an!oxygen!redox!potentia l!(ORP)!of! 120‐200mV.!
‐ All! feeding!is!done!by!hand.!
‐ The!farm!is!d esigned!to!be !run!by!2‐3!peop le.!
‐ The!production!cycle!cons ists!of!keeping!the!fish!for!two!months!in!the!nurs ery,!two!months! in!the!
4000!litre!tank!and!then!two!months!in! the!10, 000!litre!tanks.!
‐ Waste!is!collected!and!trucked!off‐site!(potential!for!use!as!fertilizer).!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Low!operation!dem and!on!staff,!deploy ment!close!to!urban!centres,!modular!syste m!means!
production!can!increase!over!time,!and!use!of!a!p arti cular!species!that!gr ows!rapidly.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
14
!The!following!material!is!taken!from !Sch ipp!(2006).!
!
21!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'9:'Cell'Aquac ulture' Tanks,'Terengganu,'Malaysia'*(P hoto*courtesy*of*Cell*
Aquaculture,*2008)'
!
!
!
!
!
!
22!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Hesy!Aquaculture!BV!
Bovendijk!35‐2!City,!Rv!Kwintsheul,!Ambachtst raat!16‐B!2861,!Netherl ands!(Schipp,!2006,!Debon ,!
2007)!(http://www. hes y.com)!!
SPECIES:*!
Barramundi!(Lates*calcarifer),!Murray!cod!(Maccullo che lla*pee lii),* eel!(Anguilla*Anguilla),!Wh ite!
sturgeon!(Acipenser*transmontanus),!trout!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss),! Atlanti c!halibut!(Hippoglossus*
hippoglossus),!sal mon!smol ts!(Salmo* salar),!Pike‐perch!(Sander*luci operca),!seabass!(Centropristis*
stri ata ),!seabream!(Sparus *aurata),*European!carp!(Cyprinus*carpio),!cobia!(Rachycentron*ca nadum),!
Amber!jack!(Seriola),
15
!as! well!as!various!catfish,!tilapia!and!grunt er!(a!type!of!Australian!perch!–!see!
AusyFi sh!below).!
STATUS:!!
All! commercial!
DETAILS:!
Hesy!Aquaculture!is!a!private! company!with!over!20!years!of!experien ce!i n!the!design!and!operation!of!intensive!
recirculating!fish!farms,!th ey!are!an!engineering!consultancy.
16
!They!have!developed!systems!in!over!11!
countries,!including!China ,!Bulgaria,!Morocco! and!Russia.!The!smallest!system!designed!produces!2 !Mt /year,!the!
largest!is!greater !than!1000!Mt/year.!They!offer!training,! operat ion!manuals!as!well!as!on‐going! support!as!
required.!They!have!set!up!over!85!commercia l!production!units!(Table!2).!
!
Based! on!this!experience,!they!ar e!confident!that!recirculating! systems!are!cost‐effective!compa red !to!cage!
farming.!!Their!systems!are!designed!to!rely!on!gravity!flow!from!a!central!point,!so!only!one!pumping! station!is!
needed!(Deb on,!2007).!The!water!savings!are!huge,!instead!of!a!fe w!hundred!m³!per!kilogram!fish!produced!i n!
flow‐through!systems!they!need!only!50!to!300!litres! of!new!water!per!kilogram!fish!pr oduced.!! They!u se!no!
antibiotic s!for!their!systems!as!in coming!water!is!treated.!Their!energy!consumption!is!between !7‐8!kW/Kg!fish,!
and!in!the!Netherlands !they!u se!t heir!sludge!for!fertilizer!with!high!salinity!tolerant!vegetables.!!
!
In!Europe!they!have!estimated!the!following!costs!of!production!(Schipp,!2006):!
Eels!(Anguilla*anguilla):!$8.25!!/!Kg!of!fish!pro duced!
Tilapia!(S.*Oreoc hro mis):!$ 1.5!‐!3!/!Kg!of!fish!pr oduced!
Seabream!(Sparus*aurata):*$10.5!‐!12!/!Kg!of!fish!produc ed!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURES:!!
A!large!variet y!of!species!p rod uced!commercia lly!in!many!geographic!and!socio‐econo mic!
settings.!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Table'2.'Sum mary'of'recent'HESY'commercial'productio n'units.'
Country!
Far ms!
Species!
Croatia!
1!farm s!
Eels!
Greece!
3!!
Trout,! sturgeon,!
seabass,!
seabream ,!
mullet!
Israel!
2!
Tilapia,!seabass,!
seabream !
Australia!
3!
Murray!cod!
Netherlands!
14!
Pike‐perch,!
turbot,!
sturgeon,! eel!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
15
!Exact!species!not!certain!–!it!ma y!be!both!Greater!and!Lesser!Amber!Jack,!as!there !are!several!facilities! currently!operating!
in!the!U SA.!
16
!Much!of!the!following!is!fro m!w ww.hesy.com,!and!from!interviews!with!its!pr esident,!Mr.!Debon.!
!
23!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
sturgeon,! eel!
Chile!
2!
Salmon!and!
trout!!
Benin!
1!
African!catfis h!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Redfish!Ranc h!Tilapia!Farm!BC!!
(http://www.redfishranch.com//)!
SPECIES:*!
Tilapia!(O reochromis*niloticus)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!!
DETAILS:!
Redfish!Ranc h!Tilapia!Farm!and!Hatchery!is!the!only!licensed!tilapia!Farm!in!British!Columbia.
17
!It!produces!l ive!
tilapia ,!primarily!for!the!Asian!markets!i n!Vancouver.!The!curre nt!production!in!just!over!100 !Mt /yr. !It!is!a!
recirculation!facility!with!95%!water !reuse.!They!are!able!to !increa se!production!in!sta ges!by!increasing!the!
number!o f!ta nks.!W aste!goes!through!drum!filters !where!solids!are!extracted!to!septic !sys tems.!The!effluent!
water!is!treated!in!bio‐filters!before!goi ng!through!CO2!stripers!and!being!oxygenated!for!rec irculation.!The!
entire! facility!is!on!a!10,000!sq!foot!area.!Because!tilapia!is!a!tropical!fish,!temperatures!n eed!to!be!maintained!
at!28‐30!C.!!Water!is!he ated!primarily!by!propane!but!pa ssive!heating! is!also! being!developed.!Monitoring! is!
done!t hro ugh!senso rs.!!
!
They!receive! their!broo dstock!from!Idaho.!! The!fish!take!6‐8!months!to!reach!0.5!kg!harvest!size,! where!they!are!
trucked!live!t o!market.! Tilapia!im por ts!a re!increasing!in!BC!and!have!risen!from!nothing!in!1990,!to!340! Mt/yr!in!
1996,!to!680!Mt/yr!in!2006.!
!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Use!of!an! exotic! spe cies!to!help!d eve lop!a!niche!mark et.! !
'
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
17
!The!following!is!taken!from! http ://w ww.redfishranch.com/!
!
24!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
'
NAME:!
Scotian!Halib ut,!Nova!Scot ia!
(http://www.halibut.ns.ca/)!!
SPECIES:*!
Halibut!(Hippog lossus*hippoglossus)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
The!facility!in!W oods!Harbour,!Nova !Scotia !is!land‐based,!fully!contained!recirc ulation!facility!for!h alibut!
(Hippoglossus*hipp oglossus)!grow‐out.
18
!The!operation!began!in!1998!through!a!partnership!between!the!
Icelandic!company!Fiskey!and!Canadian!investors.!Scotian!Halibut!coordinates!this!grow‐out!facility!with!a!
nearby!hatchery!they!o perate!using!flow!th rou gh!systems,!as!fish!a t!th ese!sta ges!are!more!sen sitive!to!chan ges!
in!water!quality.!The!time!required!for!the! fish!to!rea ch!market !size!is!approximately!2.5!y ears!(n ote!this!is!a!
similar!time!nee ded!as!that!for!halibut!as!described!by!UNI‐Aqua,!below).!The!Wood!Harbour!facility!harv ests!15‐
30!2‐3lb!(0.8‐1.3Kg)!fish!per!week.!Their!target !for !annual!producti on!is!227!to!250!Mt.!!Most!of!thei r!pr oduct!
goes!to!restaurants!for! sale!as!high!quality,!fresh!fish .!One!client!restaurant!in!T oro nto !sel ls!the!f ish! as!live!
product.!!
‐ Modular!tanks!–!each!module!comprised!of!6‐7m!diam.!x!1.4!m!high! Swede‐style!tanks,!each!with!wat er!
depth! of!1.2m!
‐ Design!capacity!of!each!module!=!50!Mt!
‐ Maximum!stocking!density!(achieved!to!date)!is!60!Kg/m2!(measured!per!m2!as !halibut!st ack!on!top!of!
one!another!(3!deep!in !this!case))!
‐ Temperature s!in !the!tanks!are !reduced!as!the!halibut!grow:!from!11‐14C!when!the!fish!are!between !2‐
25g!to!between!7‐11C!once!the!fish!surpass!1!Kg!
‐ Flu idized!sand!b ed!bio‐filters!for!filt ering!waste!water!
‐ Dis solved!oxygen!is!injected!at!15!ps ig!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
The!commercial!production!of!Halibut!is!significant!as!a!new!species!to!aqu aculture,!and!also!in!
that!it!is!a!local!species!to!the!region.!!
'
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
18
!Much!of!the!fol lowi ng!is!from!http://www.halibut.ns.ca/!
!
25!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
'
NAME:!
UNI‐Aqua!
!Denmark!(www.uni‐aqua.com)!
SPECIES*!
Halibut!(Hippog lossus*hippoglossus)!–!commercial!(as !of!1!year)!
Trout!(On corhynchus*spp.!)!–! commerci al!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus)!–!commercial!
Japanese!Flounder!(Paralichthys*olivaceus)!–!commercial!
Sol e!(Sole a*solea)!–!commercial!
Abalone!( Haliotis*spp.)!–!commercial!
Cod!(Gadus*morhua)!–!experimental!(with!good!potential)!
Bluefin!Tuna!(Thunnus *thynnus)!–! experimental !(entire!life!cycle )!
STATUS:!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
UNI‐Aqua,! of!Denmark,!is!an!enginee ring!co nsultancy!and!pr oducer,*constructing!a!variety !of!recircu ltin g!tanks!
for!a!variety!of!spec ies. !They!have!deployed!their!technology!in!commercial! systems!in!Norway,!Spain,!China!and !
Australia*(Urup,!2007).!!*
!
Because!of!the!high !lev el!of!recirculated!water ,!RAS!can!be!located!some! distance!away!from!the!actual!shore!
(important!if !shore!location!is!co stly ).
19
!A!500! Mt! flow‐through!system!w ill!need!12,00 0!m
3
/hr!but!ac tua l!
exchange!is!only!60!m
3
/hr!(1000!L/min)!(Urup ,!20 07) .!Contr ol!of!optimal!water!chemistry:!O2,!NH4,!CO 2‐
bicarbonate!means!that!aspects!of!the!life! cycle!can!be!controlled !and!maturation!can!be!avoided!as!in!some !
species,!such !as!turbot! (Scophthalm us*maximus),!ma turing!results!in!poor!feed!conversion!ratios!(www.uni‐
aqua.com).!This!also!causes!fluctuations!in!meat!quality .!Because!of!t emperature!and! input!control ,!the!
recirculation!sys tem!performs!be tter!than!comparable!open!air!flow!though!sys tems!(See!figure!10).!They!have!
built!a !8‐10,0 00!Mt/ yea r!system!for!turbot!(Scoph tha lmus*maximus)!run!by!Stolt!Sea!F arm s!in !Spain! (Urup,!
2007).!
!
UNI‐Aqua!ha s!construc ted!a!large!turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus )!farm!in!China!using!western!technolog y!and!
adapti ng!it!to!the!local!Chinese!cont ext.!Th ey!use! manual!feeding!and!pumped!seawater!(Urup,! 2007).!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURES:!!
Thi s!sy stem!claims!t o!grow !Bluefi n!tuna!for!their!entire!life!cycl e!(www.uni‐aqua.com) .!Use!of!
wastes:!typically,!sa lt!from!solid!was tes! is!a !problem!as!high !salinit y!is!poisonous!to!crops!
ma king!it!difficu lt!to!use!as!a!fertilizer.!However,!i n!D enmark!solid!wastes!from!their!marine!
species!are! use d!as!fertili zer! as!it!is! mixed!wit h!other!waste!(from!conventional!animal!farms)!to!
reduce!salt!and!spread!over!a!large!area!(Urup ,!20 07) .!4000!Mt/yr!fish!production!system:!will!
generate!12000!m
3
/yr!of!sludge!–!3‐4%!dry!ma tter.!It! is!h igh!in!phosphorous! and!low!in!
nitrogen!and!the!farmers!like! it!as!some !of!the!salts!contain!micro‐nu trie nts!(Ur up,!2007).!!In!
their!e xperimental!tests!with!halibut,!they!were!able!to!raise!market!sized!fish!in!2‐2.5!years!
(Urup,!2007)! (no te!this!is!similar!to!Scotian !Halibut,!above).!!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
19
!Much!of!the!following!is!taken!f rom!www.uni‐aqua.com,!and!fro m!interviews!with!its!principal,!Mr.!Urup.!!
!
!
26!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure '10:'Comp arison'in'growth'of' halibut'(Hippogloss us*hippog lossus)'betwe en'Flow‐
through'and'Recirculation'Systems'(Photo*courtesy*of*A quacultur e*Developments*LLC*on*
behalf *of*UNI ‐Aqua)'
!
!
!
Figure'11:'Halibut'recirculation'system'in'Døn na,'No rway'built'by 'UNI‐A qua'(Photo*
courtesy*of*Aquaculture*Developments*LLC*on*behalf*of* UNI ‐Aqua)'
!
!
!
27!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
Raceways!–!Flow‐through!
!
NAME:!
Rushing!Waters!Trout!Farm!
Wisconsin,*U S*(http://www.rushi ngwaters.net/)!
SPECIES:*!
Trout!(On corhynchus*mykiss)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
Trout!at!the!Rushing!W aters!Trou t!Farm!are!grown!in! paired,!steel‐reinfo rced!concrete!raceways!with!15!‐20!cm!
walls!and!floors.
20
!Raceways!have!an!app roximate!length!to!width!ratio!of!6:1!and!hold!water!at!a!depth !of!about!
1!m.!This!is!a!gravity‐fed!flow‐through!system! with!large!volumes!of!cold!(<20
o
C)!water!flow!via!gravit y!through! a!
series!of!terraced!raceways!and!are!disc harged!into!a!receiving!stream.!Aeration!occurs!between !raceways!as!
the!water!flows!ove r!a!screened!outfall!and!pours !into!the!head!of!the!raceway!below.!The!entire!water!volume!
is!exchanged!approximate ly!e very!hour. !!
!
Nitrogenous!wastes!must!be!remove d!fr om!the!raceways!by!flushing!and!dilution!before!toxic!le vels!of!un‐
ionized!ammonia!gas!c oncentrates!in!the!water.!Total!al kalinity!(>100!mg/L)!and!pH!(>!7.5)!limits!the!serial!reuse!
of!Kentucky’s!limestone!spring!water!to!6‐8!raceway!pas ses.!Waters!that!are!lower!in!pH!and!total!alkalinity!may!
undergo!mor e!reuses!before!toxic!concentrations!of!un‐ionized!amm onia!are!reached.!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Gravity!fed!water!system!to!keep!ele ctrical! costs!low,!and!the!b enefit!of!usin g!local!alkaline!
waters!with!a!low!pH!for!dealing!wit h!ammonia.!!!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
20
!This!section!has!been!taken!from!http://www.rushin gwaters.net/.!
!
28!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
Tanks!‐!Flow‐Through!!
!
NAME:!
Icy!Water s!Lt d!
Whitehorse,*Yukon*(htt p://www.icywaters.com/)!
SPECIES:*!
Arc tic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!!
DETAILS:!
Icy!Waters!is! a!commer cial!producer!of!Arctic!char.!The!aquaculture!farm!ha s!been!in!ope rati on!for!20!yrs.
21
!
They!sell!both!fish!f or!t he!con sumer! market!an d!ova!as!broo d‐stoc k,!and!hav e!bred!a!mix!of!wild!and!domesti c!
fish!to!produ ce!a!good! fish!for!aquaculture.!Production!is!200Mt/yr.!They!employ!gravity!fed!flow‐through!
systems!using!springs!a nd!stream s!as!a!water!source.!Drum!filters,!settling!ponds!and!wetlands!a re!used!to!
remove!particulate!matter .!Waste!sludge!is!giv en!to!farmer’s!fields ,!waste!from!processing!is!provided!t o!local !
dog!mush ers!as!high!oil!food!or!to!compost.!!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Use!of!loc al!conditions!to!grow!local!variety!for!international!e xport,!and!in!particular!brood‐
stock.!Specia liza tion!in!a!single!species.!Gravity!fed!flow ‐through!minimizes!pumping!costs.!
Innovative!use!of!waste!pr oducts .!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Silfurstjaran!Fish!Farm!
Iceland*(Gíslason,!2003;!Gústavsson,!2007a)!
SPECIES:*!
Arc tic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus),!turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus),!halibut !(Hippoglossus*
hippoglossus),!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
Established!in!1988,!the!Silfurstjarnan!Fish!Farm!i s!a!land‐based!production!system!where!fi sh!are!reared!in!a!
number!o f!in dividual!tanks!of !various!sizes!and!where!environments!are!created!fo r!specific!species.
22
!!It!is!a!
semi‐recircul ating!system!with!up!to !40%!of!water!reuse.!Fo r!se veral!years!they!harvest ed!about!200!Mt /yr!of!
Atlantic!salmon! (Salmo*sa lar);!howe ver,!this!gave! way!to!Arctic!char!which!has!s imilar!growin g!technology!but !
commands!a!higher!market!price .!!They!now!prod uce!on !the!order!of!300 !Mt /yr!of!Arctic!char.!!One!of!the!most!
impressive!aspects!of!the!farm!is!its!use !of!thermal!waters!to!reduce!energy!costs.!! After!thermal !wa ter!has !
passed!throu gh!a!local! power!generating!pl ant,!the!cooled!water!flows!to!the!fish!farm!where!it!is!used!as!a!heat!
source.!They!rely!on!mixin g!freshwater,! seawater!and !wa rm!the rmal!wate r!to !provide!o ptimal!growt h!conditions!
for!the!fish.!!Arctic!char!(Salvelinus*apli nus),!for!example!thrive!at! 16‐18!C!waters!with!salinity!le vels!of!10‐15!‰!
(Gíslason,!2003)
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Use!of!geo‐thermal!heat!as!an!energy!source,!use!of!mixing! seawater,! groundwa ter,!and!
thermal!water!to!provide!an!optimal!temperature‐salinity!mixture!for!fis h!grow th.!Iceland!is!
greatly!removed!fro m!the!market s!of!Europ e;!nevertheless,!they!are!able!to!maintain!a !
commercially!viable!system.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21
!This!section!is!from!www.icywaters.com ,!and!conver sations!with!Icy!Waters!p roponents.!!!
22
!The!following!is!based!on!personal!communication!with!Mr.!Gústavsson!(2007a)!and !reports!of!Mr.!Gíslas on!( 2003).!
!
29!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
Inland!–!Ponds!(Flow‐Through!
'
NAME:!
Swift!Aquafarms!
Agassi z,*B ritish*Columbia**
SPECIES*!
Coho!salmon!!(reared!i n!fr esh !wa ter)!
STATUS:!
Commercial!(small!scale)!
DETAILS:!!!!
Swift!Aquafarms!ha ve!been!rearing!salmon !for !over!ten!years;!and!Coho!i n!particular!for!three!years !in!
eni rtel y!in!fresh!water.
23
!They!employ!a!series!of!14!ft! dia meter!flow‐through!tanks.!The!treatment!o f!
waste!water!is!extreme ly!innovative.!Fir st,!water!is!passed!through!a!s elf!cleaning!6 0!micron!filter!
where!solids!are !removed. !The!ef fluent!is!then !used!to!grow !watercress!and!high!va lue!wasab i!plants.!
They!have!also!look ed!at!growing!hybrid!popular!for!toilet!paper!and! algae!that!can!be!used!as!part!of!
the!feed.!They!have !also!explored!using!effluent!to!grow !local!crayfish!which!ca n!weigh!as!much !as!½!
pond!(200g).!!!
They!a re!expand ing!to!develop!recirculating!sy stems. !
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURES:!!
Use!of!fresh!water!for!raisi ng!Coho!and!the!integrated!approach!to!aquaculture!wi th!profitable!
by!products!from!effluent!and!waste.!Also,!value!added!pro ducts!as!smoking!the!fish,!or!nich e!
ma rket!such!as!restaurants.!
'
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
23
!The!following!is!taken!from! the!Minutes!of!the!Speci al!Committee!on!Sustain able !Aquaculture!held!on!October!18,!2006;!
available!from!www.leg.bc.c a/cmt/38thparl/session‐2/aquaculture/hansard/W61018a.htm#25:1130!
!
30!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Aqua!Farm!Langley, !BC!(Albright,!2007)!
(http://www.sfu .ca/pamr/news_releases/arch ives/news10190601.htm)!
SPECIES:*!
Rai nbow!trout!(O ncorhynchus*my kiss);!freshwater!Sockeye!salmon!(Oncorhynchus*nerka)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!(both)!
DETAILS:!
Thi s!sy stem!involves!tank!and!pond!produc tion!of !tro ut!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss)!and!Sockeye!salmon!
(Oncorhynch us*nerka),! with!trout !production!being!20!Mt/year.
24
!Sockeye!produc tion!is! less.!!Prod uction!goes!to!
restaurants!in!the!V ancouver!area!that!want!fresh !fish!(niche!market).!!Sockeye! males!can !grow!up!to!2.3Kg,!and!
have!been!cultivate d!now! for! fou r!successive!life!cycles!in!fr eshwater!only.!!His!test s!show !that!all!Pacific!salmon,!
including!Coho!(Oncorhynchus*k isutch),!Chinook!(Oncorhynchus*t shawytscha),!Chum!(Oncorhynch us*keta )!and!
Pin k!salmon!(On corhynchus*gorbuscha) !can!be!cu ltured!throughout!their !entire!lifecycle!i n!fr esh water.!
Most!fish!are!cultivated!in!flow‐through!ponds!with!no!recirculation!in!an!ar ea!of!five!acres.!Ponds!are! dewatered!
at!i ntervals!and!the!sides!excavat ed!for!soli d!waste!removal!that!is !used!as!fertil izer!(low!in!nitrogen,!but!high!in!
phosphorus!and !micro‐nutrients).!!Incoming!water!is!princi pally!from!groundwater!wells.!Effluent!is!screened!to !
ensure!no!escapes,!and!is!treated!in! a!w etland!through!bio‐remed iati on.!!There !are!no!antibi otics!or!additives!
given!to!the!fish.!!The!feed!comes!from! a!local!producer,!‘UniFeed’,
25
!and!the!feed!conversion!ratio!(FCR)!is!
approximately!1 .3‐1.5.!!
Albright!o bta ins! about!$!10/Kg!for!trout! and!$1 4/Kg!f or!Sockeye!sa lmon!(Head‐on!dressed).!!Although!t he!Sockey e!
have!whit e!flesh !he!sugges ts!that!demand!is!high!for!ecological ly!reared!salmon.!!Aqua!Farms,!Westcreek!Trout!
Far m,!Silverb roo k,!Timms,!Duriel! and!N’quatka!farms! have!joined!together!to!create!an!‘Eco‐certificate’!for!their!
trout!production!in!the!lower!mainland!of! BC.!!!!
Albright!estimates!that!the!co st!of!commercially!farming!salmon!in!fresh!wa ter!would!be! 1.3!times!higher!than!the!
cost!of!commercially!farm ing!trout!in!fresh !wa ter.!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Sockeye!salmon!(Oncorhynch us*nerka)!reared!entirely!in!land‐based!CSA!in!freshwater.!Low!
pumping!and!waste!treatmen t!costs.!Groundwater!sources! mean!that!there! is!li ttle !treatment!
necessary!before!entry!into!the!p onds.!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
24
!The!information!in!this!section!is!de rived!fro m!interv iews !with!the!princip le,!Dr.!Albright!(2007),!and!from!the!abov e!listed!
website.!
25
!See!ww w.agrico reunited.com/cgi‐bin/bvsm/AU2/Far mer/LSS /Unifeed/index.jsp!!
!
31!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Ausyfish.!Pty.!Ltd!
Austra lia*(www.ausyfis h.com)!
SPECIES:*!
Golden!perch!(Macquaria*ambigua)
26
,!Silver!perch!(Bidyanus*bidyanus),!Murray! Cod!(Maccullochella*
peelii*peelii),!Baram undi!(Lates*calcarifer),!Jade!Perch!‐!Barcoo! Grunter!(Scortum*barcoo),!and!Sleepy!
Cod!(Oxyeleotris*lin eolatus)!in!recircula ting!systems!
(all!freshwater!spec ies) !
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
The!company!has!been!producing!commer cial!fish!since!1988.
27
!!They!have!127!ponds,!wit h!three!storage!dam s!
for!water!supply ,!and!the!systems!are!m ostly!gravi ty!fed.!They!speciali se!in!Australian!species,!for!local!
consumption!and!b roo dstock!for!export!ab road!as!well.!Eac h!species!will!have!its!specific!benefits. !They!claim!that!
almost!all!Golden!perch!for!consumption!are!now!supplied !by!aquaculture!ponds!where!growing!temperatures!
should!not!go!below!12!C;!FCR!of!0.8!to!1.7 ;!up!to!98%!survival! rates;!and!fish!fe ed!on!plankton!in!w eaning !sta ge!
reducing!feed!costs.!!Jade!perch!grow!twice!as!fast!a!Silver!perch,!generally!need!te mperatures!o f!27!C,!and!not!
bel ow!18C,!and!grows!on!wide!variety!of!diets.!Sleepy!cod!can!be!grown!at!high!densit ies!and!can!capture! market!
values!of!$30/Kg .!As !Sleepy!cod!tend!not!to!move!much!there!is!low!production!of!CO
2
!and!thus! lower!costs!for!
aer ation,!and!it!also!makes!them!easier!to!transport!l ive! (accounting!f or!high!market!value).!
They!a lso! grow!man y!ornamental !varieties!of!fish.!
!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
The!focus!is!on!promoting!local!species !and!developing!sufficient! supply!to!create! new!m arkets!
(Jade!perch). !Divers e!commer cial!intere sts,!for!ins tance!the!ornam ental!fish!as!well!as! consumer!
fish.!!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
26
!Note!they!grow!all!three!strains:!Macquaria*ambigua*ambig ua;*Mac quaria*ambigua*ssp.;!and!Macquaria*ambigua*ori ens.*
27
!The!following!was!taken!from!w ww.ausyfish.com!.!
!
32!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Fresh!Catch!Belize!Ltd.!!
Belize*(http://www. aquaculture.co.il/Projects/Belize .html)!
SPECIES:*!
Nile!tilapi a!(Oreochromis*niloticus)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!
DETAILS:!
Aquaculture!Production!Technology!of!Isra el!built!the!facility.
28
!Th is!o peration!produces!tilapia!(Oreochromis *
nilotic us), !supplying!1,300!Mt/yr!mainly!to! US!and!Mexican! markets.
29
!The!system!uses!380!m
2
!of! land!and!pumps!
water!from!the!Sibun!river.!The!project! is!b ased!on!earthen! ponds!wit h!mechanical!aeration,!and!
minimal!pumping!from!the!river!for! compensation!against!seepage!and!evaporation!losses.!The!design!of !the!
Tilapia!Fa rm! is!b ased!on!‘green‐water’!re‐ci rculation.!In!the! green‐wat er!system! fish!waste !is!t reated!through!
natural!decomposition!by!bacter ia!and! algae!that!live!in!the!natural!ponds.!Ammonia!is!c onverted!to!nitrite!and!
nitrate!by!bacteria!(see!waste!dis posal!in!section!7!below),!the!nitrate!then!being!taken!up!by!algae,!the!al gae !is!
consumed!by!zooplankton!which!in! turn!provide!a!supplement!to!the!fish.!Adding!wa ter!to!t he!fish !farm!is!only!
required!to!compensat e!against!l osses!due!to!seepage,!evaporation!and!operational!uses.!!
!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
The!complete!‘integrated’! cycle!of!waste!to !feed!for!the!fish!means!less!wast e!treatment,!less!
fee d,!more!robust!system,! photosynthesis!of!the!algae!helps!maintain!oxygen!balance!(as!net!O2!
producers),!muc h!less!water!c onsumption,! and!therefore!less!p ossibility!for!‘interactio n’!in!the!
system!reducing!the!potential!for!disease!entry.!
The!system!h as!been!commercially!replicated!in!El!Salvador!–!see!Aquacoporacion*de*El*Salvador*
S.A .
30
!
'
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
28
!See!www.aquaculture‐israel.com!
29
!The!following!is!taken!from!www.aquaculture.co.il/Projects/Belize.html.!
30
!See!http://www.aquaculture.co .il/Projects/El_Salvador.html!
!
33!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
Sea‐Based!Systems!!!
!Flexible!Tanks!
!
NAME:!
Aqua‐Sphere!Closed!Containment!System.!!
Developed*by*Neptune* Industries*in*Florida*City,*FL*(Papadoyianis, !2007)*
(www.neptuneindustri es.net)!
SPECIES:*!
Striped!seabass!(Morone*saxatilis)!
STATUS:!!
Experimental!
DETAILS:!
The!Aqua‐Cell!is!a!floating,!closed‐containment!seafood!production!system,!an d!is !the!first!a rticulated!tank!
system.
31
!‘Disruptive!tech nology ’!is!designed!to!p rovide!an!eco‐friendly,!energy!efficient!alternative!to!cages!and!
net‐pens.!This!prototype!system!design ed!for!Striped!Bass!has!been!developed!over!8!years!in!Florida.!Aqua‐ Cell!is!
sca lable!a nd!modular,!and!composed!of!a!rigid!polyethy lene!material!with!neoprene!j oints!between!cells!that!
allow!flex ibil ity!in!respons e!to!tide,!storm!s urges,!etc. !The!current,!first!generation!prototype!is!4.57!m.!in!
dia meter!with!plans!for!two!more!generations!of!prototypes!as!the!company!move s!towards! a!commer cial!scale!
system.!Some!other!no table!features:!!
!
‐ !! Sol id!waste!is!pumped!to!an!anaerobic!digester!to!be!converte d!to!methane!that!is!used!to!run!the!air!
lift!blowers!to!pump!water.!!
‐ !! Slu dge!is!used!as!a!fertilizer!for!a!hydroponic!gree nhouse,!and!waste!collected!f rom!th e!bottom!of!
tanks!i s!used!to!grow!edible!seaweed.!!
‐ !! The!system!is!very!e nergy!efficient!as!it!run s!off!ai r!lif ts!(not!pumps)!– !accommodating!the!use!o f!
alternative!energy.!!
‐ !! The!tanks!sys tem!is!composed!of!cells!that! are!interconnected!with!a!reinforced!neoprene!joint,!
allowing!the! system!to! flex!upon! impact!from!waves. !
‐ !! Individual!ce lls!have!in terconnected!fish!passageways!m ade!of!flexibl e!tubing!o r!piping.!A!series!of!gate!
valves!can!be!used!to!move!fish!f rom!one!tank !to!another!w ithout!having!to! net!them!thereby!reducing !
stress!and!incidence!of !dis ease.!!!
‐ !! Neptune!I ndustries!has !registered!a!sub sidiary !in!Canada!named!A qua!Biologics !of!Canada!Ltd.!!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Modular!compo nents!to!cons truct!a!var iety!of!sides,!articulation!for!stability!in!wave!mot ion,!
and!easy!mobility!o f!fish!between!adjacent!en closures.!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
31
!Information!in!this!secti on!is!taken!from!interviews!with!Neptune!Industry!President,!Mr.!Papadoyianis,!and!from!
www.neptunein dustries.net.!
!
34!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Fut ure!SEA!Tech nologies!(SEA !System™)!(w ww .futuresea.co m)!
SPECIES:*!
Chinook!salmon!(Onco rhynchus*tshawytsc ha),!Co ho!salmon!(Oncorhynchus*kis utch),!Arctic!char!
(Salvelinus*alpinus),!Black!cod!(N oto thenia*microlepidota),!Rainbow!t rou t!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!!
DETAILS:!
The!SEA!System!is!a!full!recirc ulating!system!comprising! a!sea‐based!flexible!ba g.
32
!This!system!has!been!installe d!
for!use!in!British!Co lumbia,!Nova!Scotia ,!New!Brunsw ick,!Tasmania,!Chile,!Japan.!In !B.C.!this!system! has !been!
trialled!by!Marine!Harvest!on!Salt!Spring!Island
33
!and!is !currently!in!use! by!Middle!Bay!Sustainable !Aquac ulture!
Institu te.!!
!
The!bags!are! 15m!in!diameter!and!range!in!depth! from!7m!to!12m!(for!a!total!volume!range!of!1000!m
3
!–!2000!
m
3
).!High!efficiency!pumps!redu ce!the!amount!of!energ y!required!for!pumping .!Other!advantages!of!the!s ystem!
include!ease!(and!affordability)!of!transportat ion!fro m!one!loc ation!to!another.!!!
Salmon!species!can !be!raised!in!this!system!at!an! ave rage!density!of!30Kg /!m
3
.!An!operatio n!raising!Rainbow!trout!
in!Nova!Scotia!achieved!densities!of!60Kg/!m
3
!while!Arc tic!cha r!in!On tari o!have!been!raised!at!40!Kg/!m
3
.!This!can!
be!compared!with!net‐ pens!whic h!generally!main tain!densi ties!of! between!10!a nd!15!Kg/!m
3
!for!salmon!species.!!!!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Flexible!b ag!system,!high!efficien cy!pumps,!being!tested!for!salmon!rearing!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
32
!Information!in!this!secti on!is!based!on!personal!communication! with !Andy!Cl ark,!pres ident!of!Future!SEA!Technologies,!and!
www.futuresea.com !!
33
!Information!from!this!trial!can!be!fo und!on!the!British!Columbia!Min istry!of!Agriculture!and!Lands!website!at!
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/fisher ies/technology/marine_harvest.htm!
!
35!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
NAME:!
Mc Robert!Aquacult ure!Group!
Western*Australia*(http://www.mcrobert.com.au /)!
SPECIES:*!
Ocean!tro ut!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss),
34
!Yellowtail!kingfish!(Seriola*lalandi*lalandi)!and!mulloway*
(Sciaena*Antarctica)!
STATUS:!!
Commercial!(since!2006)!
DETAILS:!
Mc Robert !Aquaculture!Group!initially!d eve loped!the!Semi‐Intensive!Floating!Tank!System!(SIFTS)!as!a!product!to!
improve!finfish!production!in!the!inland!saline!waterways!of!Australia,!and!address!many!of !the!cu rrent!p rob lems!
wit hin!cage!farming!industries.
35
!At! the!core!of!the!SIFTS!development!are!the!McRobert!fish!handling!and!waste!
removal!process es.!Fish!are!st ock ed!in!S IFTS!at !densit ies!4!to!5!times!high er!than!in!sea‐cages!(>80!Kg/! m
3
)!and!
sus tained!by! constantly!ae rated!water!b eing!pumped!thr ough!at!the!h igh!rate!of!up !to!four!complete!exchanges!
per!ho ur.!The!impervio us!l iners!p revent!esc apes!of!fish,!eliminate!predation!and!facilitate!the!capture!of!solid!
wastes.!!T he!water!environment!is!constantly!monitored!via!a!compu ter‐controlled!sy stem.!A!pr oto type!50m³!
SIFTS!dep loyed!into!the!Ocean!Farms!site!in!Fremantle!Harbour!since!November!2006
!
has!capac ity!to!produce!up!
to!50!Mt/yr!of!fish,!incl uding!ocean!trout,!y ellowtail!kingfish!and!mul loway!for!the!local!mar ket.
!
The!system!is!not!
suited!to!tropical!waters!with!large!t idal!movement!but!has!potential!in!ponds!and!sheltered!waters.!
!
Whereas!SIFTS!is!designed!to! grow!a!“local”!product!suited! to!the!climate!of!a!particular!region,!the!McRobert!
Aquaculture!Group!also!desig ns!and!ins talls!fully!recircu lating!syst ems!which!are!biosecure!(disease!control),!
intensive,!land‐based!indoor!tank‐based!systems! that!allow!high!valu e!species!to!be!grown!in!any!climatic!region.!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
The!use!of!local! spe cies,!high!densities!of!fish,!and!hi gh!turnover!o f!water.!Although!pumping!
costs!mus t!be!relatively!high!( compared!to! open!net)!these!seem!to!be!out!weig hted!by!
production!volume.!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'12:'Rotationally'moulded'S IFTS'
'(Photo*provided*courtesy*of*McRobert*Aquaculure)**
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
34
!Note!that!Tasmania n!Ocean !trout!are!als o!kn own!mo re!commonly!as!Rainbow!trout!and!Steelhead!trout.!
35
!The!following!is!taken!from!http://www.mcr obert.com.a u/.!!
!
36!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
Sea!Based!‘Hard’!Tanks!
!
NAME:!
Maricultu re!Syst em s!(SARGO™)!
USA!(ht tp://www.sargo.net/)!
SPECIES:*!
Coho!(Oncorhynchus*kisutch)!and!Chinook!salmon!(Onc orh ynchus*tshawytscha),!Yellowfin!tuna!
(Thunnus*albacares ),!Arctic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus)!a nd!Walley ed!pike!(Sander*vitreus* vitreus )!
STATUS:!!
Experimental!
DETAILS:!
The!basic!ele ment!of!the!SARGO!fish!rearing!system!i s!a!floating,!rigid‐wall!r eservoir!with!a!continuous ,!external!
supply!of! water!pumped!from!any!desir ed!depth.
36
!Six!fish‐rearing!reservoirs! assembled!around!a!servic e!platform!
compr ise!a!POD.!Each!serv ice! platform!contains!the!pumps,!controls,!feeding!equipment,!oxygen!supply,!waste!
handli ng!syst em!and!other!support!equipment!for!its !POD.! No!system!is!in!com mercial!operatio n,!but!there!a re!
sev eral!in!experimental!phase.!Major!testing!has!been!conducted!on!Coho!and! Chinook!salmon!(saltwate r),!and!
Arc tic!char!(freshwa ter);!as!well!as!Yello wfin!tuna!in!Panama!and!Walleyed!pike!in!freshw ater!lakes!in!Michigan.!
Mariculture!System s!is!also!working! with!Yello w!Island!Aquaculture!on!Q uadra!Island!to!install!a!system!to!raise!
Chinook!s almon.!They!are!projecting!this!facility!to!b e!operational!by!the!spring!of!2008.!The !sys tem!is!expected!
to!be!able!to!produce!mar ket!size!3.6‐3.9!Kg!(8!–!8.5!lbs)!in!approximately!15!m ont hs!at!a!cost!that!they!claim!is!
competiti ve!with!net‐pen!production.!They!have!also!previously!harvested!2!cycles!of!Atlantic!salmon!in!Puget!
Sound !(2001!–!2002).!T hes e!grew!to!market !size!3.6‐3.9!Kg!(8!–!8.5!lbs )!in!10.5!months,!ou tpacing!avera ge!net‐pen!
production!for!Atlantic!salmon.!! !
!
Their!new!2
nd
!generation!tank s!ar e!20!m!in!diameter!and!11.5!m!deep!with!a!total!of!2500!m
3!
usable!space.!There!
is!a!5ft!high!level!barrier!fr om!the!open!water!to!t op!of!tank!to! minimise!liquid!transfer.!Fabric!is!high!den sity !
polyethylene!with!s teel!reinforceme nt!and!fibreglass!bottom,!which!has!the!particular!ad vantage!of!very!low!
gro wth!of!organisms!on!sides! so!there!is!less!drag!compared!to!nets.!!It!is!designed!to!wit hstand!winds!of! up!to!
160!km/h.!!
!
Water!is!pumped!in!locally!(either!ocea n!or!lake!water)!and !is!filtered!to! remove!particulates !or!any !organisms!
before!going!into!the!tank.!Their! intake! pipe!can!reac h!depths!of!280m!with!various!sections!of! intake! to!control!
tempe rature! and!salinity!a nd!even!wate r!quality.!The!current!waste!treatment!system!is!a!Type!III!m arine!
sanitation!device!(designe d!for!the!s hipping!industry).!!They!are!al so!exploring!anaerobic! digesters!to!create!
me thane!and!wave‐ energy!generators!for!low!cost!en ergy!generation.! !Ult imately,!the!pods!should!be!entir ely! self!
sufficient!for !‘far!from!sho re’!open!o cea n!deployment.!In!te sts!they!have! had!fairly! good!feed !conversion!ratios!o f!
1.15.!!
!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
Sm all!ene rgy!requirements!for!pumping ,!and!cont rol!of!incoming!waters!through!280!m!deep!
intake!pipe,!good!feed! conver sion!ra tios,!potentia l!for!of fshore!deployment!as!it!is!able!to!stand!
up! to!high!wi nds!an!wa ves!(note!the!Mc Robert !CSA!system!is!specifically!designed!for!inland!
ocean!and!lo w!tides).!Plastic!sides!reduce!barnacle!growth,! red ucing!t idal!and!current!effects !as!
well!as!increasing!longevit y!of!tanks.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
36
!The!following!information!was!collected!from!an!interview!with!D.!Meihan,!of!Mariculture!Systems,!and!from!
www.sargo.net!.!
!
37!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
PIC TURES/!
DIAGR AM S:!
Figure'13:'SARGO'system' (Taken *fro m*http ://www.sargo.net/)'
'
'
'
'
!
!
!
NAME:!
Middle!Bay!Sustainable!Aquacult ure!Institute!
Campbell!River,! British!Columbia!(http://w ww .sustainable‐aquacultu re.ca/)!(W alker,!2007)!
SPECIES:*!
Chinook!s almon!(Oncorhynchus*tshawytsc ha)!
STATUS:!!
Experimental!
DETAILS:!
The!system!b eing!developed!at!Middle!Bay!has!ev olved!from!the!AgriMarine!demonstration!project!in! Cedar,!BC.
37
!
Thi s!sy stem!is!co mpose d!solid !wa lls!made!from!fibreglass!reinforced!plastic!over!high!den sity !foam!(initially!it!was!
concrete).!The!p lan!is!to!insta ll!4!tanks!–!each!wit h!a!useable!volume! of!5500!cubic!meters.!Each!tank!is!proje cted!
to!be!capable!of !producing!100,000!fish!at!a!size!of!3.5!Kg/fish.!The!time!required!for!this!grow‐ out !is!expected!to!
be!approximately!16‐18!m ont hs.! Cur rently,!Middle!Bay!is!raising!Chinook!salmon,!though!the!system!will!be!
adaptable!to!other!species!(such!as!sea!trout,!black!cod!(sablefish),!halibut)!and!producers!may!look!into!these!in!
the!future.!
!
Producers!at! Middle!Bay!have !employed!th e!use!of!Future!S EA!Technologies!SEA!Sy stem™!to!house!fish!stock!in!
the!interim!while!they!continue!to!develop!their!own!technology.!!
!!
NOTABLE!
FEATURE: !!
High!p rod uction!lev els!of!200! Mt/yr!for!each!tank,!and!harvesting!of!local!sp ecies.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
37
!The!information!in!this!section!was!derived!from!personal!communication!with!Rob!Walker,!of!M iddle!Bay!Su stainable!
Aquaculture!Institute!and!from!http://www.sustainable‐aquacult ure.ca/!!
!
38!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
!
!
!
!
5. Species Grown in Closed System Aquaculture
!
The! following! section! contains! an! overview! of! characteristics! pert aining! to! some! of! the! more! com mon! species!
cur rently!being!harvested!(commercially!or!experimentally) !in!CSA!systems.!!
!
Abalone!(Haliotis*spp.)!!
Abalone! is! susceptible! to! a! range! of! parasites! and!requires! specific! water! conditions! such!as!constant!and! low !
levels!of !ammonia!at!a!high!pH;!low !level s!of!CO 2;!constant!levels!of!oxygen!a rou nd!100% !saturation!in!the!tanks;!
and!very!low!turbidity.!Because!of!advantages!re lated!to!the!ability!to!prevent!ectop arasite s!and!the!control !of!
incoming!water,!abalone!is!especially!well! suited! for! CSA.!!
!
Arctic!Char!(Salvelinus*alpinus)!
Arc tic! char! tolerate! high‐density! culture! condit ions,! have! an! excellent! fillet! y ield,! are! amenable! to! niche!
ma rketing,!and!are!suit able!for !production!wit hin !super‐intensive!recirculating!system s!(Summerfelt,!200 4).!Arctic!
char!are!raised!predominantly!in!land‐based,!closed!systems! with!recirculating!water!(Summe rfel t,!2004).!There!is!
some!lim ited!production!in!flow‐through!systems!and!net‐pens.!!Arctic!char!have !been!shown!to!be!more!disease!
resista nt!t han!other!salmonids!(Marsh,!2006).!
!
Barramundi!(Lates*calcarifer)!!
Barramundi!is!a!tro pical!species!requiring!water!temperatures!be tween!20° C!and!30°C.!Commercial!g rowth!rates!
require!temperatures!abo ve!25°C.!Being!euryhaline!(able!to!tole rate!a! wide!rang e!of!salinities),!barram undi!can!be!
gro wn!in!salt,!brackish!or!fresh!water !env ironments.!Barramundi!are!typically!raised!at!75!Kg/m
3
!(Schipp,!2006).!
They! are! reared! on! dry,! pelleted! diets;! and! maxim um! intakes! (and! best! feed! conversion! ratios)! occur! between!
27° C! to! 29°C.! The! amount! of! feed! consumed! by! the! fish! decreases! rapidly! as! the! wate r! te mperature! dr ops.!
Barramundi! are! very! robus t! and! hardy! and! disease! is! genera lly! not! a! problem,! providi ng! good! husbandry!
techniques!are!employed.!It!is!a!high!qua lity,!white!flesh ed!fish,!with!a!high!yield!of!meat!to!body!weight!(around!
45%)!and!is!high!in!Omega!3!oils.! The!development!of!hatchery!technology!h as!pr ovided!the!major!impetus!to!the!
barramundi!industr y’s!development!in!recent!years.!
!
Cod
38
!(Ga dus*morhua)! and!“B lack”!(Nototh enia*microlepidota)!
Cod!is!a !re latively!new!species!in!aquaculture.!The!total!production!volume!of!cod!is!still!relat ively!l ow,!however,!
it! is! a! species! that! could! have! the! potential! to! grow! into! a! production! volume! equivalent! to! that! of! salmon!!
(www.uni‐aqua.com).!Cod!can! be! fa rmed! at!very!high!densities! but! a!tank!design ! adapted!for!cod!is!necessary!
and! the! va ccinati on! program! is! differe nt! from! the! on e! used! in! flow‐through! s ystems! (Urup,! 2007).! Marin e!
Harvest!has!been!experimenting!with!a!cod!(Gadus*morhua)!hatchery!in!Norway. !In! 2005!they!produced!2!million!
10g!fish!at!a!cost!of!$1.26!eac h!(Shipp,!2006).!Note!that!cod !requir e!high!levels!of!fish!oil!in!their!diet.!!
!
Halibu t!(Hippoglossus*hippoglossus),!“California” !(Paralichthys*californicus)!
Halibut! is! a! ne w! species! in! aquaculture.! It! is! highly! valued,! although! only! well ! know n! mainly! in! Scandinavia,!
Britain,! USA! and! Canada .! General ly,! halibut! has! b een! grown! in! contain ment! as! j uveniles! and! subs equently!
transferre d!to!open!water!cages.!Recently,!an!operati on!in!Norway!ha s!begun !performing!the!entire!production‐
cyc le!on!l and,!with!recirculation!technology.! Using!this!technology,! the!production!time!required!for!a!ma rket!size!
fish!can!be!reduced!from!6!y ears!(c age )!to!approx!2 ½!year s!(recirulating!system)!(Urup,!2007).!Furthermore,!the!
overall! production! costs,! inclu din g! capital! costs,! of! halibut! producti on! can! be! r educed! by! approximate ly! 30%!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
38
!Note!that!G adus*morhua!ref ers!t o!the!Atlantic!cods,!a!ma rine!species!and!similar!to!“Black”!cod!of!New!Zealand.!Other!
‘cods’!such!as!“Murr ay”!(Maccullochella* peelii)*and*”Sleepy”!(Oxyeleotris*lineolatus)!are!freshwater!Australian!varieties!and!
are!of!no!relatio n.!
!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
!
using! recirculatin g! technology! as! compa red! with! cage! operations! (Urup,! 2007).! Not e! that! halibut! re quire! hi gh!
levels!of!fish!oil! in!their!diet.!!
!!
Researchers!at!the!Norwegian!Institute!of!Water!Research!(NIVA)!have!also!been!experi menting!wit h!halibut.!One!
experiment!aimed!to!control!the!maturation !process!in!o rder!to!maintain!so matic!(muscl e)!growth!in!the!fish!and!
improve! the! FCR.! T o! do! this,! researchers! trialled! a!feeding! regime! where! fish ! were! starved! then! fed! in! 5 ! week!
cyc le!rotations!(halibut!can!live!up!to!one!year!witho ut!f eed)!(Shipp,!2006).! !
!
Salmon,!Atlantic !( Salmo*salar)!!
One!of!th e!most!grown!sp ecies!in!aquaculture!in !Western!Europe,!North!America!and!Chile !bu t!predomi nantly!in!
open,!net‐pen!systems.!Atlantic!salmon!are!mainly!gro wn!in!recirculation!systems!to!smolt!and!post‐smolt!stages.!!
The! AgriMari ne! farm! in! Ceda r,! B C! grew ! two! cycles! of! Atlantic! salmon! i n! 2002! and! 2 003.! The! Atlantic! salmon!
raised!in!the!second!cycle!this!op eration!had!better!feed!conversion!rates!(1. 34)!and!peak !densities!(36!Kg/!m
3
)!
compared!to!average!Atla ntic!salmon!harvests !in!net‐pen!systems!(den sity !of!16!Kg/!m
3
)!(AgriMarine,!2004).!The!
Sar go™!sy stem!was!also!used!to!grow!2 !cycles!of! Atlanti c!salmon!in!Puget!S ound!before!the!lease!for! the!prope rty!
expired.!!
!
Salmon,!Chinook!(Oncorhynchus*t shawytscha)*
Chinook! salmon! is!currently!being! raised! at!ex perimental!facilities! in!British!Columbi a.! Trials!at! the! Middle!Bay!
Sustainable!Aquacultur e!Institute!have!demonst rated!that!this!spe cies!can!be!raised!i n!CSA!facilities!at!costs!on!
par!with!those!required!for!net‐pen!production!(Walke r,!20 07).!Future!SEA™!as!we ll!as!Sargo™!technolog ies!have!
also!been!tested!for!Chinook!farm ing.!They !can!be!stocked!on !average!at!a!density!of!30Kg/!m
3
!(Clark,!2007)!and!
typ ically!grow!to!3‐3.5Kg!in!16‐18!months!in!CSA!facilities!(Walker,!2007).!!In!2002,!the !AgriMaine!test!facility!in!
Cedar,!BC,!grew!Chinook !to!a!harvest!si ze!of!1.6!Kg!(3. 11/lb)!after!13!mo nth s!(however,!they!were!harvest!early!
to!make!room!for!other!tri als)!(AgriMarine,!2003).!
!
Salmon,!Coho!(Oncorhynchus*kis utch)*
Two!production!cycles!of!Coho!were!grown!at!the!AgriMarine!test!facility!in!Cedar,!BC!in!2002!and!2003.!In!the!
firs t!generation,!the!growth!rates!(fish!reach ing!2 ‐3!Kg!(4.5‐6.8!lbs)!in!15!months),!sur vival!rates!(87 %)!and!feed!
conversion! rates! (1.2)! were! comparable! to! the! performance! of! net‐pen! production! (Atlantic)! s almon.! The!
densities! tested! (42Kg/! m
3
)! were! more! t han! twice! that! of! net‐pen! pro duction! (max! 20! Kg/! m
3
).! These! were!
produced!a t!a!cost!of!CDN$!7/Kg!(CDN$3.22/lb)!(including!tra nsportation!costs!to!Victoria)!while!market!value!in!
2002!was!CDN!$4.9/Kg!(CDN$2.25/lb)!(Agr iMarine,!2003).!Feedback!from!consumers!at!the!time!indicated!there!
would!be !op portunities!to!sell !this!produc t!at!a!p rofit!( AgriMarine,!2003).!The!s econd!generatio n!harvest!again!
showe d! favo rable! conditi ons! for! Coho.! The! feed! conversion! rate! was! higher! (FCR! 1.6! –! believed! to! have! been!
affected!by!a!longer!growth!period!and!overfeeding).!The!peak!density,!at!32.5Kg/!m
3
,!was!lower!than!the!first!
generation!but!remained!higher!than!ty pical!n et‐pen !production.!!
!
Salmon,!S ockeye!(Oncorhynchus*nerka)!
Aqua! Farm! in! Langley,! British! Columbia,! has! raised! four! gen erations! of! Sockeye! salmon! entire ly! in! freshwater ,!
wit hout!the!input!of!anitibiotics!of!chemicals.!!The!species!requires!similar!grow ing!conditions!to!trout.!The!flesh!
is!white!and!average!size!to!mar ket!is!5Kg!which!is!similar!to!wild!caught!salmon!which!average!between!3!–!5.5!
Kg!at!maturity!(Albright,!2007).!
!
Sole!(Solea*solea)!!
In! Europe,! sole!is!grown!primarily! in!recirculation!raceway! systems. ! Sole!commands!a! high! market! price!and!is!
becoming!increasin gly!important!species!in!aquacult ure!(Øiestad,!2007a;!Øiestad,!2007b).!
!
!
40!
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!
!
!
Spotted!Wolfish!(Anarhichas*minor)'
At!the!Institute!of!Marine!Research,!Austevoll!R esearch!Stati on!in!Norway,!researchers !are!in vestigating!the!high!
intensity!culture!of!spotted!wolfish,!in!shallow!raceways.!The se!fish!are!being !cultured!at!t he!high!density!of!600!
Kg/ !m
3
!(Schipp,!2006).!
!
Tilapia ,!Nile!(Ore ochromis*niloticus)!
While! there! are! also! the! blue! tilapia! an d! the! Mo zambique! tilpia,! th e! Nile! tilapia! is! the! most! commonly! used!
species!fo r!aquacult ure.!!This!species!can!be!grown!at!e xtremely!high!densities!(Schipp,!2006 ;!Holder,!2007),!and!
thrives! in! saline,! brackish! or! fres h! water.! Originally! from! the! Middle! East! and ! Afr ica, ! tilapia ! require! h igh!
tempe ratures! (27‐20! C).! ! They! mature! quickl y! (appr oximately ! 6‐8 ! months)! and! grow! between! 170! g ! to! 2.2! Kg!
(Gíslason,!2003)!The y!are!a!very!robust !fish!with!respect!to!disease!and!hig h!density!numbers!and!acco unt !for!the!
ma jori ty!of!p ond!system!a quaculture!for!fi nfish!world!wide!(FAO‐ STAT,!2007).!Tilapia!are!ra ised!in !BC!at!100!Kg/m
3
!
(RedFi sh,! 2007).! They ! are! a! her bivorous! species,! meaning! th ey! can! survi ve! on! a! plant‐based! diet! (Boyd! 2005).!
Adults! do! however ! t ypically! receive! feed! that! co nta ins! on! average! 5%! or! less! fishmeal! (Goldburg! and! Trip lett !
1997).!!
!
Trout,!Rai nbow!(On corhynchus*mykiss)! !
Rai nbow!trout!are!notable!for!the!high!de nsities!at!whic h!they!can!be !st ock ed.!Typically,!t hey!are!grown!at!a!rate!
of!3‐ 5!Kg/L!per ! minute! of!water!flow.! In!raceways,! stocking ! densities!are!typicall y!.3!to!.7!Kg! o f!fish ! per!lit re!of!
water!(measured!by!Kg/lit re/flow/min.)!(Har dy,!2000).!Farms!that!aerate!their!ra ceways!and!pond s!can!stock!and!
produce!up!to!1.2!to!1.8!Kg!of!fish!per!litre!of!water!(Hinsha w,!2004).!!
!!
Rai nbow!trout!are!very!eff icient!at!converting!feed!to!b iomass!(Hardy,!2000).!Advance ments!in!feed!for mulations!
in!recent!years!have!led!to!improved!f eed!conversion!ratios!and!th erefore!less!us e!of!marine!reso urces.!In!so me!
recirculation!systems,!Rainbow!Trout!require!relativel y!little!water!in!the!grow‐out!stage.!!Water!bound!to!sludge!
in! the! system! (and! subsequently! removed)! and! that! volume! which! evaporates! are ! the! only! water! losses! in! the!
system.! Water ! consumption! has! been! found! to! be! a s! low! as! 10‐20! L! of! water! pe r! Kg! of! fish! pro duced.! This! is!
significant! for! the! fact ! that! it! al lows! the! fle xibility! to! locat e! wherever! there! is! an! economical! and! sustainable!
supply!of! productio n!quality!water.!!
!
Trout!is,!on!average,!raised!at!a!density!in!the!range!of!150‐180!Kg/m
3!
in!commer cial!RAS !production!(Urup,!2007 )!
while!flow‐through!ponds!operate!with!densities!in!the!range!of!20‐30!kg/m
3
!m.!Peak!levels!at!+300Kg/m
3
!have!
been! seen! in! RAS! systems,! without! the! o nse t! of! d isease! problems,! though! so me! fin! d eformi ties! are! observed!
above! 300!Kg/m
3!
(Urup,! 2007).!The!SIFTS!recirculating!ta nk!system!used!by!the!McRobert! Aquaculture!group!in!
Australia!raised!trout!a t!densi ty!of!47!Kg/m
3
!(McRobert,!2007).!
!
Tuna,!Bluefin!(Thunnus*thynnus)!!
Tuna! has ! been! grown! in! c age ! culture! for! many! years! using! wild! caught! juvenil es.! However,! with !
decreasing!wild!stocks,!interest!in!using!cap tive!brood!stocks!and!hatcheries!for!producing!juveniles!for!
gro w‐out! is! b ecoming! particularly! attractive.! UNI‐ Aqua! has! bee n! active! in! Tuna! aquaculture! (Urup,!
2007).!!!
!
Tuna,!Yellowfin!(Thunnus*albacares)!
There! are! attempt s! underway! to! grow! Yellow fin! tuna! in! CSA! open! wate r! flow‐thr ough! syst ems! in!
Panama.!This!is!very!much !at!the!experimental !phase!(Meihan,!2007).!Note!tuna!require!hi gh!levels!of!
fish!oil!in!feed.!
!
!
41!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus)!
Flatfish! species! such! as! t urb ot! and! halibut! are! passive! fish,! and! will! have! similar! activity! pattern,!
whether!in!captivity!or!in!the!wild.!!This!make s!them!excellent!choices!for!aquaculture!as!they!ex hib it!
less!stress !than!other!species! (Urup,! 2007;!Øiest ad,!2007a).!!!
!
!
!
!
42!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
!
6. Volume!a nd!value !of!fish!g rown!in!CSA! !
!
Aquaculture!Pro d u ction!in!Closed!Systems!
!
It! is! diff icult! to! determine! prod uction! volumes! and ! values! for! CSA! speci es! as! trade! data! does! not! generally!
disaggregate! data! to! reflect! the! distinction! between! open! and! closed! s ystem! aquaculture.! Research! r eve aled!
some!general!findings!which!are!h elpful!in!understanding!th e!mar ket!fo r!CSA!(i.e.! the!fact!that!app roximately!half!
of!all!the!fish!consumed!in!the!Netherlands !is!fa rmed;!some!species!such !as!trout!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss),!tur bot !
(Scophthalmus* maximus),!and!Arctic!char!(S alvelin us*alpinus)!are!almost !ubiquitously!fa rmed!in!s ome!form!of!CSA!
(Gíslason,! 2003);! several! species ! are! typically! reared! in! CSA! until! they ! are! smolts! or! juveniles! and! the n! are!
transferre d! to! open! cages! or! pens! for! grow‐out! stages).! The! following! sectio n,! there fore,! conta ins! piec emeal!
information! that! is! relevant! in! determining! the! value ! and! volume! of! fish! currently! bein g! or! proposed! for!
production!in!CSA!s ystems.!!F or!organizational!purposes,!th is!has!been!broken!down!by!species!and/!or!country.!!
!
Salmon!
Approxim ately!200!Mt!of!s almon!(Salmo*salar)!were!produc ed!in !land‐based!systems !in!Iceland!in!the!late!1990’s!!
before! switching! to ! Arctic! char! (Salvelinus * alpinus)! to! capture! high! marke t! prices! associated! with! this! s pecies!
(Gústavsson,! 2007b).! In! BC,! S ock eye ! sa lmon! is! being! produced! in! fresh! water! CSA! and ! th en! sol d! to! local!
restaurants! in! the! BC ! lower! mainland! (Albright,! 2007).! Atlanti c! (Salmo* salar),! Coho! (Oncorhyn chus* kisutch)! and!
Chinook!salmon!(Oncorhynchu s*tshawytscha)!were!raised!for!two!gene rati ons!in!an!experimental!CSA !sys tem!in!
Cedar,! BC! in! 2002! and! 2003.! ! They! required! the! foll owing! production! costs! (AgriMarine,! 2003):! Coho:! $6.75/lb!
(plus! pa ckaging,! del ivery! and! dressing! =! $8.80) ! a nd! Atlantic! salmon:! $5.98/lb! (plus! packaging ,! delivery! and!
dressing!=!$7.28).!
!
Trout!(Oncorhynchus*mykiss)!
In! 2004 ,!sales! of!U.S.!farmed!food‐ size!trout! (note!that!sales! of!trout! for!stocki ng,! f ingerlings,!and!egg s!are!not!
included)! r eac hed! ove r! 24! million! Kg! ranking! trout! second! in! t erms! of! v olume! for! U.S.! finfish! aquac ulture!
products,!behind!farmed!catfish!( Ictalurus*punctatus)!(Harvey!2005).!The!U. S.,!howe ver,!a cco unt s!for!only!a!small!
am ount! of! overa ll! global! farmed! trout! production! w hich! was ! recorded! as! 511,000! Mt ! (FAO‐S TAT,! 2007).! The!
ma jor! produci ng! countries!for!trout!include!Franc e,!Chile,!Denmark,! Italy,!and!Nor way!(Hardy ,!2000;!FAO‐STAT,!
2007).!!
!
90%!of!Rainbow!trout!raised!in!the!US!annually!comes!from!flow‐through!raceway!systems!facilities!(Hinshaw!et !
al.!2004;!Bostick!et!al.!2005),!whil e!farms!in!Canada!and!Chil e!raise!rainbo w!trout!in!open!ocean!net‐ pen!or!cag e!
systems!(Bostick !et!al.!2005).!!
!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus)!
Turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus),!as!an!aquaculture!product,!is!reared!exclusively!in!land‐based!systems.!Franc e!
and!Spain!produ ce!t he!maj ority!of!turbot!on!the!market,!accounting!for!85%!of!global!production.!An!incr ease!in!
the!volume! of! turbot! aquaculture! betw een!1990! and!1994! lead!to ! a!25%! decr ease! in!its ! market! price!ov er! t he!
same! period! (Gíslason,! 2003).! While! the! price! has! stabilized! over! the! last! decade,! production! is! s till! increas ing.!
Note!that!the!pric e!reflecte d!here!is!to!illustrate !a!trend.!!T he!exact!figures!in!te rms!of!fresh!fillets,!frozen!or!hea d‐
on! dressed ! are! n ot! categorised! in! the! FAO! database.! ! Moreover,! for! many ! species ! prices! per! Kg! will! also! vary!
depending!on!the!size!of!the!fish,!further!obfu scating!the!in formation.!
!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
!
!
Figure'14:'Production'and 'price'of'turbot,'1990'–'2005'(Taken*from*FAO‐STAT)
39
'
!
-
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
1990 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005
Years
-
2.00
4.00
6.00
8.00
10.00
12.00
14.00
16.00
18.00
Production
Price
Production ('000 t)
Price (US$/t)
!
!
Table'4:'P roduct ion'of'turbot'(Sc ophthalm us*max imus)*i n'Euro pe'(Mt/ye ar)'(Gíslason,*2003)'
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
39
!Pro duction! costs!are!not!detailed!in! the!FAO!site!as!they!are!repo rted!by!countries.!It!is!assumed!to!be!for!‘total’!
product ion,!including!transp ort!t o!market!–!a lso!t hese!are !thus!costs!avera ged! out!over !numerous!facilities!each!with!a!
unique!set!of!production!costs.!
!
44!
!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
!
Arctic!char!(Salvelinus*alpinus)!
Arc tic!char!aquaculture!is!predominately!based!on!la nd‐ bas ed!recircu lating!systems.!In!Iceland,!char!is! exclusively!
produced!in!land‐based!systems! (Gústa vsson,!2007b).!Ic eland!is!the!largest!produc er!of!arctic!char!with!Canada!
the!second!largest!producer!a t!about!400!Mt/yr!(Gíslaso n,!2003).!!
!
Table'5:'Arctic'char'(Salvelinus*alpinus)'production'for'selected'co unt ries'(Mt/yr)'( Gíslason,*200 3)'
!
!
!
Table'6:'Arctic'char*(Salvelinus*alpinus)'price'US$'per'Kg'fish'in'selected'countri es'(Gíslason, *2003)'
!
!
!
The!price! per !Kg!of!f ish!was!or iginally!taken !fro m!FAO!sta tistics!(Gíslason,!2003).!Note!that!the!price!reflected! her e!
is!to!illust rate!a!trend.!!The!exact !figures!in!terms!of!f resh!fillets,!froze n!or!head‐on!dressed!are!not!categorise d!in!
the!FAO!d atabas e.!!Moreover,!for !many!spe cies!prices!pe r!Kg!will!also!vary!depending!on!the!size!of!the!fish,!
further!obfuscat ing!the!information.!
!
!
Tilapia !(Oreochromi s*ni loti cus)!
!
Tilapia!is! becoming! increasing ly! p opular! in!North!America,! where! they!are!produced! entirely! in! land‐based!CSA!
systems.!Table!7!shows!the!impo rtation!of! tilapia !into!the!US!over !seven! yea rs.!!!
!
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!
!
Table'7:'Tilapia'i mports'into'the'US'–'by'pr oduct'form'(Mt)' (Ta ken *fro m*FAO ‐Globe fish,*2005)*
!
1997!
1998!
1999!
2000!
2001!
2002!
2003!
2004!
Whole!
frozen!
19,122!
21,534!
27,293!
27,781!
38,730!
40,748!
49,045!
57,299!
Frozen!
fillets!
2,499!
2,696!
4,971!
5,186!
7,372!
12,253!
23,249!
36,160!
Fresh!
fillets!
2,823!
3,590!
5,310!
7,502!
10,236!
14,187!
17,951!
19,480!
Total!
24,444!
27,820!
37,575!
40,469!
56,337!
67,187!
90,246!
112,93 9!
!
US!&!Canada!
In! 20 05,! Harvey! found! that! catfish! (Ictalurus * punctatus),! whic h! are! typically! reared! in! flow‐through! ponds! and!
raceways! and! are! the! largest! production! CSA! fish! in! US! (Harvey,! 2005).! Based! on! the ! 1998! US! Census! of!
Aquaculture,! the! bulk!of! all!aquaculture!is! from! flow‐through! pond!systems,! with!only!about!8%! of! aqua culture!
production!being!con ducted!in!re circula ting!units !(RAS).!A!2001!survey!of!re circulation!(RAS)!facilities!in!th e!United!
Sta tes! and! Can ada! growing! finf ish! indicated! tha t! the! number! and! pounds! of! fish! produc ed! is! quite! variable,!
including! presence! of! sm all,! medium! and! large‐sized! farms! with! operations! in! warm! and! cold! water! in! both!
saltwa ter! and! freshwater! environments.!The!four!fish!most! commonly! g rown!in ! recirculation! units!!(RAS)!in! the!
United!States!and!Canada!are!Atlantic !sa lmon!(Salmo*salar)!smolts,!ti lapia!(Oreoc hro mis*niloticus),!hybrid!Striped!
bass!(Morone*saxatilis)!and!o rnamental!fis hes !(Delabbio,!2003).!!!!
!
Table'8:'Methods'U sed 'for'Aquaculture'Produ ction'in'the'United'States:'1998'
(Derived*from*USDA‐NASS*1998*Census*of*Aquacu lture*
http://www.nass.usda.gov/census/census97/aqu aculture/aqu aculture.htm*Accessed*August*12th,*2 007*
‐USDA‐NASS,*1998)*
!
Method!Used!
Number!of!Farms!
Ponds!‐!natural!
2,878!
Flo w‐thro ugh!Ra ceways!or!
Tanks!
617!
Cages!
117!
Net‐Pens!
50!
Closed!Re circulation!Tanks!
328!
Ponds‐Channels!with!Prepared!
Bottoms!
338!
Other!Metho ds!
231!
Total!Farms!
4.028!
!
Success!stories! a n d ! f a ilu res!
!
While!CSA!poses!ch allenges!in!terms!of!start‐up!and!production!costs,!there!is!no!shortage!o f!success!stories. !CSA!
operations! have! been! installed! in! numerous! countries! for! a! variety! of! species! that! continue! to! b e! p rod uced!
commercially.!!This!section!highl ights!numerous!examples!of!c ommercially!viable!CSA!systems.!!!
!
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!
!
!
!
A! number! of! factors! are! helping! to! improve! the! feasibility! of! CSA! systems.! The! advancement! of! relevant!
technologies!for !CSA!is!predicted!to!continue!to!help!improve!production!efficiencies.!Si multaneously,!the!market!
price! of! CSA! produced! fish! could! be! expected! to! increase! (Holder,! 2007).! In! Europe,! fo r! exampl e,! food! safety!
concerns!and!environmental!awarene ss!have!resulted!in!some!c onsumers!willing !to!p ay!a !premium!f or!safe!and !
environment ally!fr iendly!products!(van!Eijk, !2007).!In!Canada,!salmon!produced!in!land‐based!systems!in!Cedar,!
British !Columbia!has!su ccessfully!brought!a!premium!pr ice, !being!labelled !as!‘E co‐salmon’!and!di stribut ed!to!some!
restaurants!and!seafood!stores!around!Vancouver!and!Vancouver!Is land!(AgriMari ne,!2003).!Furthermore,!polic y!
and!regulato ry!changes,!such!as!those!put!fo rth!by!the!BC!Speci al!Committee!on!Sustainable !Aq uaculture!have!the!
potential! t o! encourage,! facilitate! and/o r! mandate! CSA! through! the! imposition! of! fines,! ta xes! and ! monitoring!
schem es!r elated!to!waste!disc harge,!escapeme nt,!disease!spread,!etc.!!!
!
Spotlight!on!Successful!Operations!!
!
Akvap lan‐niva.!Norwegian!(Ø iestad,!2007a)!
Racew ay!system!for!Do ver!sole!(Solea*solea),!seabrea m!(Spar us*aurata)!and!turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus)!
using!the!Shallow!Raceway!Syste m.!(Note:* The*Akvaplan‐niva*Shallow*Raceway*System*is*be ing*used*in*
commercial*operations,*Akvaplan‐ni va*is*independent*of*the*companies*using*their*system*in*co mmercial*
operations)*
• Aquacria!Arousa !has!been! operating!a!5 00!Mt!turbot!(Scophthalm us*maximus)!facility !usi ng!Akvaplan‐
niva’s!Shallow!Race way!Sy stem!in!Galicia,!Spain!for!seve ral!yea rs.!
• Feed!for!the!turbot! (Scophthalmus*maximus)!generally!wi ll!be!about!20‐30%!of!the!operati onal!costs .!!
Feed!c onsists!of!50%!protein,! 15%!lipids!and!the!rest!mix!and!binder.!!
• Total!f or!operati ng!costs!were !$7.5/Kg!of!fish!(including!transportation!to!market),!while!
the!sale!value!for!turbot!(Scophthalmus*maximus )!!is !$12‐18!/Kg!
• Operating!costs!for!the!farm!were!es tim ated!by!M r.!Øies tad!(2007a)!(Table!9)!
!
!
Table'9:'Estimated'percentage'operating'costs'for'Aquacria'Arousa’s'turbot'system'(Øiestad,*2007a)**
!
Item!
%!production!cost!
Juv eniles!
13%!
Feed!
23%!
Security!(sensors!and!monitoring!
equipment)!
8%!
Salary!
13%!
Proces sing!costs!(preparation!for!
ma rket)!
18%!
O2!
4%!
Others:!admi n,!maintenan ce!and!
energy!
14%!
!
!
Stolt'Sea'Farm'(Nor way)'
Stolt!S ea!Farms,!a!branch!of!S tolt‐Nielsen!S.A.!Norway,!has!a!4000!Mt !tur bot !(Scophthalmus* maximus)!
production!facility!in!Galicia,! Spain.!They!are!also!exploring!potential!with!California!sturgeon!( S.*
acipenser)!(Øiestad,!200 7a).!
!
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Inter'Aqua'Advance'ApS*(Denmark)*(www.interaqua .dk)!
Inter!Aqua!Advance!wa s!established!in!1978!and!was!on e!of!the!first!companies!in!the!world !to!offer!recirculation!
water!treatm ent!sys tems.!As!a !company,!their!focus!has!been!on!the!high est! possible!water!quality,!low!en ergy!
consumption!and!u ser‐friendly!designs.!Th eir!system !design!is!now!up!to !its! third!generation!of!development.!
They!have!a!continuing!de velopmen t!pr ogram!and!aim!toward!keeping!the!s ystems!at!a!level!that!is!competitive!–!
and!cheaper! in!production!co st!a nd!management!than!conventional!systems.!
• Low!head!system!~1.5!m!vs.!2.5!m!
• High!recirculation!rate! of!3000!lit res/!second!
• A!p atented!low!head!oxygenation!system.!
• The!biomedia!developed!by!InterAqua,! ‘curler!advance’!is!claimed !to!be!superior!to!other!plastic!
me dia!because!of!it s!open!design!which!prevents! clogging!and!gives!improved!nitrification!
performance .!
• Curler!advance!biomedia!is!used!in!the! company’s!Clearwater!low ‐space!bioreacto r.!This!
biorea ctor!is! des igned!with!an!internal!airli ft!system!to!maintain!o xygen,! off‐gas!CO2!and! to!keep!
the!biomedia!moving!and!operating!with!a !thin,!heal thy !biofilm!for!improved!nitrification!
performance .!
• Recently!I nte rAq ua!has!developed!a!new,!non‐me chanical!filtration!system.!Ter med!‘cont act!
filters’!they!consist!of!long!racew ays!filled!with!sinking!plastic!media.!The!m edia!slows!the!flow!of!
the!recirculated! water,! causing!solids!to!fall!out!of!suspe nsion.!The!raceways!are!flushed!
periodically!to!remove!accumulated!wastes.!
• Contact!fi lters!are!already! operating!succes sfully!in!large !tro ut!farms!in!Denmark.!
• Simple!cost!estimate!(2005)!for!a!plant!pro ducing !600!Mt!of!fish!per!year:!
– $4.35!million!for!the!plant!!
– $0.6!million!for!the!shed!!
– $2.85!million!production!cost!including:!
• Feed!$1,386,000!!
• Electricity!€184,960!!
• Labour!€431,575!!
• Brood!Stock!€295,537!(spe cies!dependent)!!
• Maintena nce,!in surance,!a ncillary!costs!etc!€123,307!!
!
Spotlight!on!Failed!Recirculation!Systems!
!
The!following!list!presents!examples!of!failed!recircul ation!systems.!These!are!valuable!in!highlighting!distinctions!
between! i ssues! related! to! technology,! management! and! policy! in! in fluencing! the! success! or! failure! of! a! CSA!
ventur e.!This!learning!is!necessary ! to!maintain!or!advance! the!implementat ion! of!technologies! which!may!have!
been!associated!with!a!failed!venture!but! have ! the!potential!to!be! succ essful! when!installed!with!other! proven!
technologies,!when!implemented!in !an!improved!management!context!and/or! policy!environment.
40
!!!
!
1. Ida ho‐ bas ed!J.R.!Simplot!Co.!closed!the!doors! on!its!two‐year!old, !intens ive! tilapia!operation,!lo sing!more!
than!$20!million!in! the!process.!Reason:!inadequate!biofilter.!!
2. Bodega!Farms!shut!down!its!$9.5 !million!st eelhea d,!Coho!salmon!(Oncorhynch us*kisu tch)!and!abalone !
(Haliotis*spp.)!farm!near!Bodega!Bay,!CA.!R eason:!State!of!CA!would!not!allow!t wo!million!fingerlings!
across!the!border,!a nd!they!had!no!place!else!to!go!(no!fish, !no!cash).!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
40
!The!following!list!is!taken!from!Timmons!(20 02)!who!was !paraphrasing!and!article!written!by!Peter!Redmayne!(Editor!of!
Seafood!Leader,!Jan uary /February!–!1992).!
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3. Aquaculture!Tec hnologies!of!Lou isia na!(ATL)!went!bankr upt !abandoning!8!square!k ilometres! of!catfish!
(Ictalurus*punctatus)!ponds!in!St.!La ndr y!Parish.!!Also!they!left!some!$9!million! in!debts!to!some !300!
creditors.!Reason:!bad! manag ement.!
4. NAIAD!Corp,!largest!cat fish!farming!and!processing!venture!in!Texas!fi led!Chapter!1 1!(August!of!1991)!
after!start ing!processing!its!own!catfish!(Ictalurus*pu nctatus).!Reason :!lack!of!operating!cash!related!to!
poor!cash !flo w!man age ment.!!
5. Blue!Ridge!Fi she ries!(Marinsville, !VA)!th e!largest!indoor!catf ish!(Ictalurus *punctatus)*operation!in!the!
world!(at!tha t!time,!1991)!lost!its!ass ets! to!bank!foreclosure.!Reason:! the!RAS!was!not!coast!effectiv e.!This!
facility!was!resurrected!as!a!ti lapia!facility!and!is!currently!a!major!producer !in!the!Northeast !US,!
essentially!unde r!th e!same!managemen t!structure).!!
6. Fish!&!Dakota!lost!several!hundred!thousa nd!pounds!of !fish!and!did!not!reopen!its!doors.!Reason:!New!
ma nagem ent !eliminated!some!of!the!24!hour!coverage!and! a!power!o utage!and!failure!of!the!“automatic” !
stand‐ by!generator!killed!the!fish.!!
7. Northern!Fresh!Fish !Cooperative!(central!NY),!last!member!to!lose!fish!was!because!his!di aler!had!n ot!
been!hooked!up !to!alert!them!of!a!lack!of!water!(had !left!a!drain!open!durin g!a!cleaning!operation);!the!
2
nd
!to! last!member!went!out!of!business!when!his!well!wen t!dr y.!!
8. Per ch!ope ration! in!Wes tern!Pennsylv ania!cl ose d!their!doors! when!their!new!syst em!had!finall y!reached!
near!full!design!carryin g!capacity!and!then! the!liner!in!the!culture!vessel!“broke”.!
9. Southern! Pennsylva nia!perch!grower!finally!gave!up!after!th eir!init ial!stocking!of!perch!showed!growth!
rates!a!fraction!of!what!was!a nticipated.!!
!
!
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7. Overview!of!Fact ors!Influencing!the!Economic s!of!CSA!
!
The!following!section!contains!a!summary!of!some!factors!foun d!to!be!i nfluencing!the!economic!feasibility!of!CSA.!
Thi s!is !neither!an!exhaustive!list!nor!comprehensive!analysis;!rather,!it!servers!as!a!brief !ov erview!an d!is!in tended!
to!provide!direction!for!further!research.!!
Long‐term!analysis!!
Some! proponents! of! closed! containment! systems! maintain! that! the! short‐term! cap ital! investment! required! for!
these! systems! will! be! offset! by! gains! associated! with! be ing! able! to! control! losses! suffe red! in! open! net‐pen!
productions! systems! due! to! predation,! escapement,! etc.! Furthermore,! over! the! long‐t erm! these! systems! may!
require!less!operation!cost!whereas!net‐pen!system s!face!c ostly!la bour!inputs!such!as!divers.!!Ano ther!long‐term!
considera tion! affecting! the! economic! viability! of! closed! containment! systems! is! the! increasing! tightening! of!
regulation! which! could! eventually! force! la rger! investments! on! all! sectors! of! the! a quaculture! industr y! (Meihan,!
2007;!Papadoyianis,!2007) .!!
Diversification!
Several!of!the!technologies!l isted!in!sec tion!3!of!this!report!are!adaptable!to!a!number!of!differ ent!spe cies.!This!
allows !producers!to!capture!market!highs,!rearing !fish!that!at!a !given!time!are!commanding!an!attracti ve!market!
price,!while!protect ing!themsel ves!from!t he!lo ws.!As!the!market!for!seafood!in!general!increases,!opportunities!to!
profit!off!of!new!species!will!expand,!bene fiting!farmers!who!are!able!to!enter!new!markets!(Quém éner,!2 002).!!
Regulation!!
Regulation!regarding!waste!disposa l!is!i ncreasingly!heading!towards!tighter!restri ctions. !For!example,!the!EU!has!
recently! implemented! policies ! af fecting! wast e! disposal! (Ro muel,! 2007). ! Growing ! consumer! awareness! and!
environment al! restrictions! have! le d!pr oducers!in ! the! direction!of ! re‐circula tion!aquaculture! technology!(Debon,!
2007b).!In!Denmark,!fresh!water !farms! are!requir ed!to!use!their!waste!as!fertiliser!(Schipp,!2006 ).!
Subsidies!
The!European!Union!provides!subsidies!to!encourage!fishermen!to!take!on!aquaculture!( Schipp,!2006 ).!!As!mu ch!
as!50 %!sta rt‐up!financ ing! is! available!to!encou rage!safe!and ! environmentally!sound!produc tion!(Øiestad,!2007).!
Other! fi scal! and! tax! mechanisms! are! available! to! encourage! start! up! of! new,! environmentally! preferabl e!
industries.!
Licensing!
Many!countries!in!the!European!Union!have!improved!efficiencies!around!licen sing!systems!which!can!see!farms !
up! and! running! in! a! mat ter! of! mon ths! and! thereby! mak ing! investments! in! this! infrastructure! more! attractive!
(Schipp,! 2006).! The! processing! time! required! for! approvals! and! l icensing! in ! the! Netherlands! and! D enmark! in!
particular !has!been!significantly!reduced!(Schipp, !2006).!
Labelling!and!Certification!
Increasingly,!consumers!are!demanding!to!kno w!how!their!food!is!prod uced!(van!E ijk,!2004)!.!Acc ord ing!to!FAO!
(20 06),!countries!activel y!produc ing!and!certifying!organic!aquaculture!products!include!Australia,!Canada,!Chile,!
Ecuador,!Indonesia,!Ne w!Z ealand,!Peru,!Thailand,!and!Vi et!Nam.!!
!
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In! March! 2007! the! Livestoc k! Committee! of! the! US! National! Org anic! Standards! Board! reco mmended! to! the! US!
National! Orga nic! Program! that! aquatic! spec ies! be! in cluded,! but! cautioned! that! more! dialogue! is! needed! to!
determine!appropriate !feeds!and!whether!open!water!net‐pen !rearing!should!be!included!for!organic!labels.
41
!!
!
Increased! consumer! awar eness! rega rding! the! environ mental! impact! of! net ‐pen! aqu aculture! could! easily!
contribute! to! the! creation! of! opportu niti es! for! produc ers! using! clos ed! system! to! capture! a! nich e! market.! An!
example!would!be!the!price!a ssociated!with!‘fair‐trade’!coffee.!The!same!mig ht!apply!to!Organic!certification!or!
Green!lab elling!i n!North!Amer ica.!!!
Economies!of!scale!
Economies!of!scale!may!be!achievable!by!moving!to!large!diameter,!de ep!t anks.!Tank s!of!600!m
3
!to!one!1000!m
3
!
have!been!cited!as!a!standard!for!profitability!(Schipp,!2006).!!
Improvements!in!feed!utilisation!in!CSA!
Feed! technology! has! improved! dramatically! over! the! last! dec ade! ( Bodvin,! 1996;! Hardy,! 2001;! Shpigel,! 1993;!
Tacon,! 2004;! Tlusty,! 2 000).! In! 1994,! researchers! associated! with! the! North! Carolina! State! Univ ersity!
demonstration! proje ct! created! a! computer! simulation! of! tilapia! production! i n! a! small! r ecircul ating! production!
system.!The!results!of!a!model!sen sitivity!analysis!indicate!that!while!improvements!in!the!performance!efficiency !
of!system !compone nts!did!not!greatly!affect!fish!production!costs,!r eductions!in!feed!costs!and!improvements!in!
the! feed! conversion! ratio! caused! the! greates t! reduction! of! production! cost! of! all! of! the! operati onal! variables !
investigated! (Losordo,! 2003).! ! Many! CSA,! particularly! RSA,! systems! sho w! improving ! FCR! due! to! control ! of! the!
water! circulation!(better!uptake),! and! control! of! fish! e nvironment! and! a bility! to!control!metabolic!ra tes! (better!
internal!conversion).!!
Pumping!costs!
Numerous! companies! are! designing! systems! s pecific ally! to! reduce! energy! i ssues! associat ed! with! pumping. !!
Physical!design!for!a! low!head!(Inter!Aqua!Advance,!SARGO!etc .)!or!a!centra l!pumping! system!with !the!rest!grav ity!
fed!(HES Y),!are!some!of!the!means!of!co st! reduction.!Clea rly,!it!will! depend!on!loc ation!and!proximity!to!the!water!
source.! Alter natives! for! e nergy! production! a re! also! being! examined! s uch! as! th e! generation! of! energy! through !
wave!action!and!methane!capture!from!waste.!!!
Infrastructure!
Scalable,!m odular! systems,!such!as!those! being!designed!by! the!McRobert!Aqu aculture!Group,!amongst!others,!
allow!pro ducers!to!increase!(or!decrease)!pro duction!volume!at!their!own!pace,!thereby!re ducing !risk!associated!
wit h!over! capitalisation.!The!AquaOptima!sys tem!is! another!example! of!this.! Using! large! plastic! formed,!lock! in!
pla ce!panels!fi lled!with!concrete.!Furthermore,!with!the!option!to!locate!sy stems!closer !or!adjacent!to!processing!
faciliti es! and! markets,! CSA! can! capture! benefits! by! lowering! the! economic! an d! environmental! costs! associ ated!
wit h!tr ans portation.!!!
Water!Acres!
Water!acres!is!a!concept!that!considers!the!value!of!nea r!shore!versus!far!from!shore!areas!of!water!in!assessi ng!
opportunities! for! locating! industrial! acti vity.! Both! Neptune! Industri es! and! Mariculture! (Sargo)! Systems! are!
exploring! the! po tential! for! usi ng! CSA! in! the! ‘far! from! shore’! open! wate r! to! ac hieve! production! efficiencies. !
Scarcity,! cost! and! permit ting! issues! around! land,! e spe cially! land! adjacent! to! coasts! reduces! an! op eration’s!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
41
!See!http://www.ams.usda.gov/nosb/Co mmittee Recommendations/March_0 7_Meeting/Livestock /AquacultureRec.pdf!for!
details!of!the!recommendati ons!
!
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competiti ve! advantage! (Papadoyianis,! 2007;! Meihan,! 2007).! This! could! improve! the! f inancial! feasibility! of! CSA,!
however,!the !full!impact,!including!ecological! sustainability,!of!this!type!of!operation!requires!further!researc h.!!
Weather!
Increasing!unpredictability!in!the!weather,!and!in!particular!water!temperatures,!have!caused!producers!to!look!
towards!greater!certainty!i n!production!ass ociated!with!CSA,!and!RAS!in!particu lar!(Debon,!2007b).!
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8. Assessment!of!Key!Ec ological!Inter actions!!
!
Thi s! section! is! intende d! to! provide! an! assessm ent! o f! t he! ecological! implic ations! of! CSA! technologies;! mainly,!
interactio ns!between!the!fish!stoc k!and!the!natural!environment; !the!ecological!conditions!within!the!tan k;!and!
considera tions! regarding! the! life‐cycle! requirements! of! CSA! systems.! Clearly ,! treatment! of! incomi ng! water! w ill!
depend! upon ! its! quality! and! thus! the! location! of! t he! f acility! and ! its! availab le! water! so urces.! ! Some! farms! use!
gro undwater! sources,! others! rain,! river,! lake! or! ocean! wate r.! C onsequently,! there! is! n o! ‘s tandard’! in! terms! of!
treating!incoming!water.!!Moreover,!the!species!and!density!of!f ish!will!also!determine!the!nec essary!‘quality’!of!
incoming! water,! and! thus! the! treatment! required.! ! Cor respondingly,! all! these! factors! influence! the! issu es! of!
parasite! and! disease! control ,! waste! pro duction! and! treat ment,! amongst! others.! ! B earing! this ! in! mind,! the!
follow ing!section!is!neither!exhausti ve!nor! conclu sive.!!!
!
Parasite!&!disease!control!
!
There! are! more! than! 100! known! fish! dis eases,! many! brought! on! by! organisms! suc h! as! fungi,! vi ruses,! bacteria,!
protoz oa,!c rustaceans,!and!worms,! amongst!others!(Masser,!1999b,!1999a).!Because!CSA!syste ms!create!a!barrier!
between!the !cu lture!and!the!natural!environment!there!is!con trol!over!the!possibility!for!parasites!and!disease!to!
enter!into!the!holding!areas!from!natural !wat er!systems!directly.!The!exception!is!in!natural!ponds!and!channels,!
where! the! sides! are! treated! periodically! with! various! bactericides! and! pest icides! when ! they! are! periodically!
cleaned!(Boyd,!1999).!!Nevertheles s,!disease!can!enter!from!human!int ervention!through!the!brood!stock!(when!
applicable)! via ! the! eq uipment,! th e! nets,! gloves,! and! feed! etc.! ! The! chos en! water! source! is! al so! a! co nsiderable!
factor! in! disease! control! as! pathogens! can! enter! with! water! sou rced! from! wild! ma rine! environments.! Often!
parasites,! such! as! lice,! when! intr oduced! can! cause! st ress! which! makes! the! fish! sus ceptible! to! opportunistic!
infecti ons! (Blanc heton,! 2000;! Chatain,! 1997; ! Delabbio,! 2003;! Lasordo,! 2003;! Masser,! 1999b;! Rach,! 2000).! ! The!
actual!material!of!the!enclosure!can !also!influence!the!types!of!disease!and!the!po tential!methods!of!t reatment. !!
!
Fortunately,!CS A!provides!the!opportunity!to!treat!both!incoming!wa ter!and!waste!waters!and!is!thus!optimal!for!
disease!control!with!minor!needs!for !antibiotic!use ;!indeed!as!noted!i n!section!2!n umerous!farms!us e!absolutely!
no!antibiotics.!!All!produce rs!ensure!that!their!inflo w!water!is!clean,!either!by!choosing!a!clea n!source!or!through !
treatment.!However,!it!i s!not!the!case!that!all!flow‐th rou gh!systems!trea t!their!exit!waters ,!and!thus!the!risk!o f!
parasites! generated! in! the! tanks! or! ponds! could! enter! the! natural! env ironment. ! There! is! no! ubiquitous! syst em!
regarding!treatment!of!wa ter!for! pathogen! reduction!and!re mo val.!The!choice!of!treatment!is!influenced!by:!
• Species!
• Fish!density!
• Tank!material!
• Water!hydraulics!(residence!time!an d!mixing)!
• Incoming!water!quality!
• Legislation!and!regulations!
• Cost!of!treatment!
!
A! survey! of! 139! recirculating! operations! in! North ! America! (including! 38! in! Canada,! and! including! salmon!
hatcheries!and!smolt!producers)!in!2003 !help s!to!illustr ate!h ow!the!use!of!prophyla ctics!in!disease!managemen t!
varies! according! t o! species! being! ha rvested! and! has! decreased! over! time.! This! showed! tha t! 17%! of! producers!
em ployed!va ccines!as!opposed!to!30%!several!years!earlier.!Sixty‐six!percent!of!facilities!r eported!p rop hylactic!u se!
of!chem icals! on!fish!while!81%!repor ted!therapeutic!use!(chemical!treatments!inc luding!the!use!of!sal t)!(Delabbio,!
2003).!Six ty‐one!percent!of!respondents!g rowing!Atlantic!salmon!(S almo*salar)!currently!use!vac cines,!while!only!
4%!of!tilapia !growers,!7%!of!ornamental!f ish!growers!a nd!8%!of!hybrid!Striped!bass!growers!use!vaccines!on!their!
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fish.! Al l! of! the! above! mentioned! fin fish! growers! reported! using! vaccines! more! frequently! in! the! past.! Possible!
explanations ! for! t his! change! of! behavio ur! include:! perceived! effectiveness! of! vaccination ,! cost! co nsiderations,!
change!in!management!and!a!change!in!perception!of!pathogen!risk.!The!high!rate!of!vaccine!use!in!salmon!farms!
is! likely! due! to! a! culture! of! use! as! well! as! support! in! vaccine! development! from! both! go vernments! and!
ma nuf acturers!for ! salmonoid! p rod ucts!(Samuelsen!et! al.,!1989;! Li llehaug,!1990;!Lillehaug!et!al.,!1990,!Delabbio,!
2004).! Certain! species,! such! as! abalone,! may! be ! extremely! sensit ive! to! ectoparasites, ! and! there fore! require!
greater!control!of!container !water !(Urup ,!2007).!!Others,!such!as!tilapia,!are!known!to!be!very!robust,!and!Arctic!
char!have!been!shown! to!be!more!disease!resistant!than !other!salmonids.!(Marsh,!2006).!
!
In! ce rtain! circumstances,! the! source! water! for! flow‐through! systems! is! very! clean.! ! Som e! lan d! based! farms!
operate! on! ground! water! sources! (Redfish,! 2007;! Albright,! 2007),! while ! open ! w ater! systems ! can! usually! take!
water! from! v arying! depths! to! minimise! parasites! a nd! poor! water! quality! associated! with! surface! water! on! the!
ocean!(Meihan,!2007) .!The!Future!SEA!Technologies’!bag !system!does!not !have!a!filter,!but!in!a!recent!trial!has!
shown!up!to!a !10‐fold!reduction!in!the!amount!of!sea!lice!in side!its!pens!compared!to!open!net!cages!( Pendleton,!
2005).!
!
Ozone!is!being!increasingly!used!to!he lp!manag e!water!quality !in!fresh!water !RAS.!Its!use!in!marine!systems!is!also!
gro wing!in!popularity!but!indiscriminate!usa ge!can!be!pro blematic.!Ozone!is!a!chemical!that!must!be!use d!with!
extreme!caution!as!it!is!highly!toxic!bot h!to!humans!and!to!fish.!Ozone!generated!by‐products !such!as!bromines!
can!also!have! potentia lly! toxic!side!effects!when! used! in!marine!systems.! However,!correct!usage!of! ozone!can!
lead!to!an!increase!in!the!reliability!of !production!from!hatchery!syste ms!(Schipp,!2006).!HESY!Aquacu lture!is!one!
of!the!systems!that!uses!ozon e;!how eve r,!they!have!obse rved!that!cert ain!species!are!very!sensitive!to!ozone!and!
even!moderate!leve ls!can!result!in!burns!t o! fish!gills!(Debon,!2007a). !In!some!raceway!facilities!where!the!water!is!
in! the!tanks! for!a! lo nger!period,!incoming! water!will!be! treated! u sing!a!series! of!bio‐filters!with!supplementary!
periodic!treatment,!su ch!as!formaldehyde,!with!high!f ish!densities!ens ure!that!pathoge n!build!up!d oes !not!occur!
(Øiestad,!2007a)!!!
!
Interestingly, !Balle n!wrasse,!which!have!been!used!in!commercial!net‐pens!to!cont rol!se a!lice,!are!being!explored!
in!Norway!for!use!in!aqu aculture!tanks!( Schipp,!2006).!It!should!be!noted!that!Wrasse!is!a!specie s!that!is!exot ic!
outside!of!the!North !East!Atlantic!and!this!is!a!crucial!factor!in!determining!the!appro priateness!of!its!use!in!the!
context!of!disease!control.!!!
!
While! recirculating! aquaculture! systems! create! o ptimum! environments! for! fish,!they! may! inadvertently! provide!
favour able! conditions! for! disease! occurrence! or! the! reproducti on! of! oppor tun istic! pathogen s! (Noble,! 1996;!
Timmons,! 2002).! Disease! organisms! in! recirculation! systems! recycle! with! the! rear ing! water,! and ! be cause! no!
dilution! of! the ! pathogens! occurs,! as! in! the! case! of! flow‐through! systems,! the! rates! of! infection! can ! be! greater!
(Bullock,!1994)!Once!a!pathogen!h as!become!established!i n!a!reci rculation!system!it!is !often!extremely!diff icult!to!
era dicate! a! disease;! the! f ish! rearing! system! itself! bec omes! an! incubator! for! the! disease.! In! addition,! many!
chemical!control!trea tments!commonly!used!to!treat!disease!problems!in!flow‐through!systems!are!not!practical!
in!application!with!re circula tion!systems!because!they!aff ect!bacteria!that!are!beneficial!and!nece ssary!to! the!bio‐
filter!systems!as!well!as!the!targeted!pathogen s!(Heinen,!19 95;!Noble,!1996).!!
!
Feed!Composition!and!Conversion!Rates!
!
Feed! is! an! important! element! of! fish! farming.! It! generally! represents! a! large! portion! of! the! cost s,! 20‐40%, ! and!
influences!how!fast!and!well!th e!fish!develop.!There !is!growing!concern!regarding!the!amount!wild!fis h!needed!t o!
produce!q uality!fish!feed!(Cho,!1997;!Folke,!1989;!Hardy,!2001;!Naylor,!2000;!Ne w,!2 002;!Tacon,!2004;!Tuominen ,!
2003).!A!measurement!of!feed!‘ef ficienc y’!is!the!feed!con version!ratio!(FCR),!which!is!the!Kg!of! feed! needed!to!
!
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!
raise!1!Kg!of!fish.!Reducing!the!FCR!is!beneficial!as!it!means!that!fewer!input s!are!needed,!and!les s!contamination!
is!g enerated!to!raise!a!Kg!of!fish.!There!are!two!princi ple!ways!of!achieving!this:!
!
1. Increase!the!uptake!of!the!feed!(reduce!feed!loss)!
2. Increase!the!conversion!ra te!within!the! fish!itself!
!
Generally,!there!are!better!feed!c onversion!ratios!(FCR )!for!CSA!sys tems!as!compared!to!net‐pens!where!feed!is!
lost! into! the! natural! envir onment! (Hardy,! 2001).! Furthermore,! bette r! designs! in! the! hydraulics! of! CSA! systems!
allow!for!feed!pellets!to!remain! in!suspension!long er.!In!shallow!racewa ys,!for!ex ample,!water!depths!have!ranged!
from!7!m m!to!25!cm!depending!o n!fish!size.!As!a!result,!food!particles!pass!the!vision!field!of!any!fish,!ev en!those!
resting!on !the!bottom.!To!make!food!more!easily!available!along!the!length!o f!the!raceway,!floating!formulated!
pel lets! have ! been! used! as! the! main! staple! food.! With! small! juvenile s! ( wet! weig ht! from! 2 ! to! 100!mg),! live! food!
org anisms!have!been!used,!such!as!na tural!zooplankton,!brine!shrimp!(Ar temia*salina),!nauplii!and! yolk‐sac!larvae!
of!cod.!These!food!organisms!will!drift!slowly!into!th e!vi sion!field! of!the!juveniles!(Øiestad,!1999).!!
!
RAS,!in!p arti cular,!pro vides!the!opportunity!to!control!the!f ish!enviro nment!(tempera ture,!salinity,!etc.)!and!thus!
is!metabolic!rate!of!the!fis h!to!Increase!the!conve rsion!rate! within!the!fis h!itself.!!
!
On‐farm!chemica l! u s e!!
!
Different! systems! in! diffe rent! locations! will ! require! different! inputs! and! chemical! balan ces.! In! general! f low‐
through! systems! use! much! less! chemical! i nputs! than! recirculated! systems.! The! high! volume! of! water ! in! flow‐
through!systems!reduces!the! need!for!chemical!applications.!!Ho wever,!when! applied,!systems !must!be!in!place!to!
filter!or!treat!che mical!flow‐through!so!it !doesn’t !affect!wild!sp ecies!downstream.! !Because! of!th e!large!volume!of !
water!within!the!system,!it!is!costly!to!design!full!waste!water!in!these!sys tems!(Kamps,!1999);!nevertheless,!some!
flow‐through! syste ms! have! effluents! discharged! into! wetlands! for! assimilation! into! t he! en vironment! p roviding!
cheap!treatmen t!as!well!as!habitat!for!n atural!specie s.!Combining!th e!benefits!of!good!int ake !water !co ntrols!with!
treatment!systems!designed!only!to!operate!i n!emergencies!may!be!one!way!to!address!this !issue.!Environmental!
monitoring!of!flow‐through!systems!with!limited! treatm ent!will!be!necessary!to!judge !the!real!impacts .!
!
By! contrast!recircu lation! systems! depend!upon!a! greater! chemical!use,!principall y!to! maintain!water! c hemistry,!
this! is! for! the! benefit! of! the! b acteria! in! th e! biofilters ! as! much! as! for! the! fish.! ! Because! o f! hig h! fish! densit ies!
dissolved!oxygen!can!decrease!rapidly,!particu larly!duri ng!feeding!whe n!the!metabolic!rates!of!t he!fish!increase!
and!uneaten!fee d!with!decompose!requiring!oxygen.!!Thus!constant!supply ! to!both!the! fish!and!bacteria!in!the!
bio‐filters!are!important!to!maintain!fish!health!and!should!be!at!approxi mately!5ppm.!This!is!usually!achieved!by!
introducing! water! super! saturated! with! oxygen! in! lower! levels! of! the! tank,! or! along! parts! of! the! raceways. !!
Because!carbon!d ioxide!i s!a!by‐product!of!fish!respirati on!it!must!b e!removed!either!physica lly!or!chemical ly.!!The!
increase! in! carbon! dioxide! levels! means! that! the! pH! of! the! water! is! likely! to! drop.! Op tim um! pH ! lev els! will! be!
species!dependent,!but!should!generally!be!maintained!betwe en!6!and !9.5!for!m ost!fish.!Bacteria!in! bio‐filters!are!
generally! much! more! sensitive! and! require! pHs! around ! t he! 7‐8! range.! Alkaline! bu ffers,! such! as! sodium!
bicarbonate!and!calcium!carbonate!are!typi cally!used.!!Other!chemical!in!recirculation!systems!!may!inclu de!salts,!
including! chlorides! to! ! r educe! nitrate! toxicity!(Blancheton,!2000;! Chatain,! 1997;!Delabbio,! 2003 ;!Lasor do,! 2003;!
Masser,!1999 b;!Rach,!2000).!
!
Fer tilizers! and! liming! materials! are! the! most! common! substances ! used! in! pond! aquac ulture! systems;! however,!
oxidants,! coagulants,! osmoregulator s,! algicides,! herbicid es,! pisci cides,! probiotics,! heavy! metals! and! pest icides!
have!a ll!been!used!to!lesser!extents!(Boyd,!1999).!!
!
!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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!
Using!f eed!with!good!FC R!is!important!to!help!maintain!water!quality.!Obtaining!a!good!FCR!is!important!not!only!
from!the!desire!to!have!more!fi sh!for!less!feed.!The!feeding!rate,!feed!composition,!fish!meta bolic!rate!and!the!
quantity!of!wasted!fe ed!affe ct!the!tank!water!qual ity.!As!pellet!feeds!are!intr oduced!to!the!fish ,!they!are!eith er!
consumed!or! left! to! decompose!within!the!system.! The! by‐prod ucts!of! fish!me tabolism! include! carbon! diox ide,!
am monia‐nit rogen,! and! faecal! solids.! If! uneaten! feeds! and! metabolic! by‐produ cts! are! left! within! the! culture!
system,! they! will ! generate! additional! c arbon! dioxide! and! a mmonia‐nitrogen,! reduce! the! oxygen! content! of! the!
water,!and!have!a !direct!detrimental!impact!on!the!health! of!the!cultured!product!(Lasordo ,!2003;!Masser,!1999a;!
Miller,!2002;!Piedrahita,!2003).!!
!
Predator!kills!
!
Because!CSA!systems!s eparate!the!fish! culture!from! the!natural!environment!predator!kills!are!negligible,!in!all!the!
different!forms!(mammals,!bir ds,!fish ,!others).!In!open!air!systems!bird!predation!is!the!highest!concern!(Bevan,!
2002;!Littauer,!2003;!Mil es,!2007).!In!Canada, !herons!and !cormorants!pose!the!greatest!threat!and!have!had!the!
highes t!impact!on!fi sh!stock s!(Bevan,!2002).!Predation!brings!about!both!direct!(kills)!and!indirect!(psychologic al!
stresses)!damages.!The!indirect!impacts!are!thought!to!bring!about!the!economic!loss!but!are!the!most!difficult!to!
isolate!and!estimate.!Common!deterrent!methods!for!bi rds!include:!exclusions!and!barriers!(nets ,!wires ),!a coustic!
device s,! alarm s! and! distres s! calls,! lights,! water! spray! device s,! scarecrows! and! reflectors,! silhouettes,! human!
activity,!trained!dogs!and!design!opt ions!(i.e.!increase!water!depth!in!the!tank)!(Bevan,!2002).!!
!
Also,!because!of!the!separation!betw een!fish!culture!and!the!natural!enviro nment,!it! is!reason able! to!assume!that!
open!water !systems!(both!marine !and!freshwater)!will!not!need!to!employ!harmful!deterrent!efforts!on!mammals!
or!other!wild !fish!species!seeking !to!access! the!fish!culture.!
!
Waste!disposal!& ! n u t rient!loading!
!
The! principle! w astes! generated! by! all ! aquacult ure! are! ammonia,! nitr ates,! phosphates,! organics! (crea ting! hi gh!
biological! oxygen! demand),! and! suspe nded! solids! (Cho,! 1997;! G3‐Consulting,! 2000;! Lee,! 2004; ! Masser,! 1999b;!
Miller,! 2002;! Piedrahita,! 2003).! ! In! CSA ! s ystems! the! w aste! is! divide d! betwe en! effluent! water! and! the! s lud ge!
associated!with!solid!material!that!does!not!remain!in!suspension,!such!as!fecal!matter.!!
!
Bel ow!is!a!schematic!sh owing!the!major!was tes!and!thei r!treatment!associated!with!recirculated!systems.!!Flow‐
through! systems! will! pro duce! the! same! type! of! wastes,! although ! in! much! reduced! concentrations! (T able! 10 ),!
consequently!their!treatment!may!vary. !!
'
!
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!
Figure'15:'Fish'wastes'and'their'effects' on'bac teri al'and'chemical'interac tions'in'a'recirculating'syst em'
(Masser,*1999b)'
!
!
!
Effluent!
The!wastes!in!the!effluent!water!from!CSA!systems!are!similar!in!composition;!howe ver!differ!greatly !in!terms!of!
concentration!(Table!10)!and!thus!tr eatment!methods.!!
Table'10:'Effl uent'wast es'by'different'systems'(fr om*Piedra hita,*2003 )'
Hypothetical !effluent!concentrat ions!for!different!types!of!culture!systems!assuming!that!no!treatment!takes!
pla ce!within!the!sys tems!and!the!constituents! are!uniformly!distributed!i n!the!effluent.!The!t otal!constituent!
production!is!used!regardl ess!of!whether!it!is!in!the!solid!or!dissolved !for m.!
!
Water!Use!
Calculat ed!effluent!concentr ation
a
!
System!type!
Kg!fish/year!(l/min)
b
!
l/Kg!fish
c
!
mg! N/l
d
!
mg! P/l
e
!
Mg! TSS/l
f
!
Cold*water*f ish*
Single!p ass!
1.4!
375,000!
0.2!
0.02!
1.3!
Serial!reuse!
6!
88,000!
0.7!
0.08!
5.7!
Part ial!reuse!
50!
10,500!
5.7!
0.67!
48!
Fully!recircu lating!
160!
3,300!
18!
2.1!
152!
Warm*water*fish*
Serial!reuse!
16!
33,000!
2.4!
0.8!
42!
Pon ds!
294!
1,800!
44!
15!
780!
Recircul ating!
through !wetlands!
145!
3,600!
22!
7.8!
390!
Fully!recircu lating!
5,500!
105!
760!
27!
13,000!
!
a)!Effluent!c oncentrations!calculated!as:! (Constituent !production,!(Kg!constituent) /(Kg!feed))!X!(Feed!
conversion!ratio ,!(Kg !feed)/(Kg!fish))/ (Water!use,!(l/Kg!fish))!X!(10
6!
(mg!constituent)/(Kg!constituent )).!Feed! conversion!ratios!
are!1.0!and!2.0!for!c old!and! warm!water!fish,!respectively.!!
b)!After!Chen!et!al.!(2002).!!
c)!Calcu lated!assuming!a!365‐day!year.!
!
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!!!!!!!Global!Assessment!of!Closed!System!Aquaculture!
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d)!N!production.!For!cold!water!fish:!0.06!Kg! N/Kg!feed,!assuming!a!50%!p rotein!feed!and!30%!N!retent ion!as!fish!biomass.!
For! warm!water!fish: !0.04!Kg! N/Kg!feed,!assuming!a!35%!protein!feed!and!30%!N!retention!as!fish!biomass.!
e)!P!production.!For !cold!wa ter!fish:!0.00 7!Kg!P/Kg!feed,!a ssuming!a!1%!P!f eed!and!30%!P!retention!as!fish!biomass.!For!warm!
water!fish:!0 .014!Kg!P/Kg!feed,!assuming!a!2%!P!feed!and!30%!P!retent ion!as!fish!biomass.!
f)!TSS!productio n.!For!cold!water!fish:!0.5!Kg! TSS/Kg!f eed! (Chen!et!al.,!199 7).!For!warm!water!fish:!0.7!Kg!
TSS/Kg!feed!(Chen!et!al.,!1997).!!!
!
In!recirculating!systems,!wat er!is!generally!cleaned!th rou gh!a!combination!of!bio‐filters!with!denitrifying!bacteria,!
nitrosomonas*and*nitrobacter,!and !through!physical!aeration.!Fl ow‐through!syste ms!rem ove!the!majority!of!solid!
wastes!from!the!waste!stream!and!rely!on!diff erent!types!of!trea tment!for!effluent!waters!(ammonia!being!the!
most! significant! waste).! Some! rely! on! environmental! assimilation! for! removal! of! was te! and! nu trie nts,! while!
others,!like!the!SARGO™!system,!use!standard!disposal!techn iques!s uch!as!tho se!used!on!ships.!!Assimilation!can!
be! achieved! either! through! di rect! release! into! receiving! wate rs,! settling! ponds,! or! through! biological! means,!
including!the!use!algae,!pl ants!etc.!in!artif icial!wetlands!at!the!outflow!(Miller,!2002).!Aqua!Farms!in!Langl ey,!BC!is!
an! example! of! a ! facility! that! uses! this! method.! Bioremediation! involves! co‐cultivation! of! finfish! with! species!
capable! of! metabolizing! effluent! within! a! cont ained! or! se mi‐contained ! aquacultur e! system.! ! Culturi ng! of! the!
seaweed!porphyra!fo r!instance,!has!been!us ed!succ essfully!in!net‐pen!salmon!aqua culture!(Chopin,!1999;!Chung,!
2002b).! ! Bioremediation! techniques! hav e! also! been! demonst rated! to! be! feasible! with! sponges! (Fu,! 2006;!
Milanese, !2003,!Gracilaria!Zhou,!2006),!polychaetes!(Li cciano,!2005)!and!bivalv es!(Gifford,!2004).!In!the!US,!some!
tilapia !producers!have!begun!using!co‐culture!with!catfi sh,!shrimp!or!algae!(Williams!2000;!Fit zsimmons !2001).!In!
addition! to! dealing! wi th! aqu aculture! effluents,! the! co‐c ultured! speci es! are! often! also! economically! viable! –!
allowing!profits! to!be!maximized !while!lessening!detrimental!effects!of!untr eated!was tes! on!the!enviro nment.!!
!
In! land! based! flow‐throu gh! systems! suspended! particul ate ! matter! and! dissolved! solids! flow! out! the! end! of! the!
raceway!or!tanks!in!the!effluent.!The!faster!the!exchange!of!wa ter,!the!less!suspended!solids!are!in!the!holding!
are a! (Øiestad,! 1999).! Prior!to ! release!in to! the! environment! it! is! common! that! effluent! in! flow‐th rou gh! systems!
includes! s ome! form! of! sedimentation! to! produce! clarified! eff luent! and! to! concentrate! bio‐s olids! or! sludge!
(Viadero!Jr,!2005).!There!are!many!standard!techniques!associated !with!removing!suspended!and!diss olved!soli ds!
from! effluent! water,! such! as ! f locculatio n,! settling! or ! f iltration.! Outflow! water! can! also! be! treated! prior! to!
discha rge,!thoug h!it!is!less!common!practic e!in!flow‐through!syste ms! (Miller,!2002).!
!
Sludge!
There!are!two!sources!of!sludge.!!One!is!produced!in!the!holding!areas,!the!second!is!pr oduced!by!suspen ded!and!
dissolved! soli ds! of! th e! effluent! water.! In! ta nk! s ystems! the! greate r! of! the! two! accumulates! in! the! t ank,! and! in !
raceways!i t!accumulates!from!separating!the!effluent!(Øiestad,!1999).!The!portion!of!pellet!feeds!not !assimilated!
by!the!fis h!is!excreted!as!a!highly!organic!waste!(faecal!solids).!When!broken!down!by!bacteria!within!the!system,!
fae cal!solids!and!uneaten!feed!will!consume!dissolved!oxygen!and!generate !ammonia‐n itrogen.!For!this!reason ,!
waste!solids!s hould!be ! re moved!from!the!system!as!qui ckly!as!pos sible.!Waste! solids!can! be!clas sified!into!four!
categories:!those!th at!s ettle!to!the!bottom! (sludge),!s uspended ,!floatable!and!dissolved!solid s!(Losordo,!2003).!!!
!
There!are!a!mult itude!to!different!methods!associated!with!collection!of!the!soli ds!and!depend!u pon!the!sys tem!
in! place.! ! Virtu ally! all! the! companies! developing! aquacu lture! technologies! have! developed! their! own! collection!
systems!for!sludge!waste.! !
!
Atlantech! C ompanies ! (www.aquatech.ca),! of ! C harlotteto wn! PEI,! ha ve! set! up! numerous! finfish! aquaculture!
installations!in!Chile!and!North!America.!!W hile!they!design!and!install!complete!systems,!both !flow‐through!and!
recirculating,! they! have! a! large! variety! of! water! treatment! components! which! they! claim! can! be! assembled! to!
me et! the! requir ements! of! m any! water! quality! s ituatio ns.! ! ! These! include! a! variety! of! intake! filters! and! intake!
!
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screen s,!sand!filters,!rotary!drums !(for!rem oval!of!solid!wastes), !micro!scree ns,!sta tic!sieve!screens,!both!UV!and!
Ozone!for!trea tment!of!intake!water,!chlorination!systems!for!e ffluent!water,!numerous!bio‐filters!whi ch!can!b e!
design ed!to!run!on!gravity!for!energy!savings,!and!a!specially!designed!separator!for!sludge!removal.
42
!
!
The! treatment! of! sludge! depends! on! local! environmental! cond itions! and! policy! restrictions.! ! Generally,! sludge!
from!freshwater!farms!can!easily!be!used!as!fertilizer !as!it!is!high!in!nitrogen!and!micro ‐nu trie nts.!!While!there!is!
some!concern!ove r!sludge!coming!from!farms!with!marine!water!regarding!salt!c ont ent!(Schipp,!2006),!this!has!
been!overcome!by!mixing!it!with!o ther!fertilizer!(Urup,!2007;!v an!Eijk,!2007).!Legislatio n!has!assisted!in!Denmark!
where!it!is!required!that!fish!waste!s ludge!be!used!as!fertilizer! (Schipp,!2006).!
!
!
Spotlight:!!Integrated!culturin g!and!“Green!water”!recir culating.!
!
Integrated! multi‐tr ophic! level! a quaculture! (IMTA)! is! a! p romising! area! of! research! because! it! takes! into! account!
interspecies! interactions! and! uptak e! of! nutrients! and! wastes! by! integrating! filter! feeders,! finfish,! a nd! various!
ma cro‐!and!microalgae!into!aqu aculture!s ystems!(Dolmer,!2004;!Neori,!200 4).!Multi‐trophic!aq uaculture!systems!
generally! involve! the! addition! of! extr active! specie s! (i.e.! requiring! no! exogenou s! food! input)! to! exis ting! fed!
aquaculture!systems!(e.g.!finfish!farms).!In!the!context !of!fi nfish!production,!IMTA!contributes!to!environmental!
sus tainability!pri marily!by!remediating!the!nutrient!overloading!a ssociated!with!effluent!(Bennett,!2006. ;!Ch ung,!
2002a;!N unes,!2003).!This!type!of!system !has!alre ady!proven!suc cessful!with!CSA!and!tilap ia!(see!the!profile!on!
Fre sh!Catch!Belize!in!section!4).!
!
An! offshoot!of!this!practice!are!‘gree n‐water’!recircul ating!systems,!such!as!that!developed!by!Aquaculture!
Productio n!Tech nology !(se e!section!4).!The!waste! pro duced! by!the!fish!is!treated!by!bacteria!and !alg ae,! which!
thrive!in!the!reservoirs! and!earthen!ponds!(hence !‐!'gree n‐water').!Nit rates!are!readily!assimilated!b y!the!algae,!
and!enter!the!natural!food!web.!The!reserv oir!acts!as!a!‘sun‐lit!rumen’,!and!is!refer red!to!as!a!‘green‐lu ng’, !
converting!the!o rganic!wastes !into!si ngle!cell!protein.!Algae !encourages!secondary! pro ductivity!( e.g.!zooplankton),!
which!supplements !the!diet!of!the!fish!(Schipp.!2 006).!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
42
!See!ww w.at lantec.ca!for!det ails!on!the!various!treatment!units.!
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9. Environm ental!Life!Cycle!and!Ener gy!Issues !
!
Choices!made!a bout!where!t o!set!the!bound aries!when!assessing!the!sustain ability!of!aquaculture!operations!will!
have! a! signific ant! effect ! on ! the! range! of! poli cy! options! needed.! As! with! all! industrial! activity,! the! material! and!
energy!requirements!for!CSA!are!dependent!on!o ther!industrial!processes!each!of!which!ha ve!asso ciated!material!
and!energy!requirements.!A lthough!it!is!beyond!the!sc ope!of!this!report!to!assess!the!full!life!cycle!analysis !issues!
for!CSA!!aqua culture!it!is!important!to!no te!those!factors!relating!to!the!main!material!and!energy!requirements!
for!CSA.!These!include:!
!
• the!fuel!source!and!ass ociated!emissions!for!running!the!farm,!
• energy!associated!with!the!transportation!of!the!product!to !market,!
• fuel!consumed!in!catching!an d!processi ng!wild!fish!u sed !for !protei n!in!feed!as!well!as!the! effect!of!
captur e!fishe ries!on !the!ecology,!!
• energy!im plications !of!growin g!soya!or!other!vegetable!oils!for!use !in!the!fee d!
• em bodied!energ y!consumed!in!the!making!of!materials!used!in!constructing !the!physical!infr astructure!of!
the!farm!!
!
A!good!deal!of!research!and!resulting!literature!is!dev oted!to!ass essing!the!various!aspects!of!aquacu lture!and!its!
impacts!(Anders on,!2002;!Asche,!2006;!Black,!199 7;!Brooks,!2001;!Bunting,!2001;!Folke,!1989,!1992;!Folke,!1998; !
Fol ke,!1994;!Folke,!1997;!Garcia,!2005;!Gardner,!2003;!Hardy,!2001;!Haya,!2001;!Langdon,!2004;!Lindbergh,!1999;!
Naylor ,! 2005;! Naylor,! 20 00;! New ,! 2002;! Pauly,! 2002;! Pauly ,! 2001;! Tacon,! 2004;! Talberth,! 2006;! Tidwell,! 2001;!
Tuomi nen,!2003;!Wu, !1995).!!T he!a mount !of!energy!used!t o!create!a!Kg!of!fi sh!can!be!seen!as !a!rough!measure!of!
efficiency .!!The!kW /Kg!used!will!ob viously!be!depende nt!on!a!number!of!factors!such! as!den sity !of!fish,!the!type!of!
fish!and!how!fast!the!fish!grow!(we!could!assume!tilapia!would!require!less!energy!than!tr out!for!instance),!the!
level!of!recirc ulation,!to!name!a!few.!!Each!fa rm!will !therefore!have!diffe rent!kW/Kg!values,!even!bet ween!s imilar!
fish!species.!Consequently,!comparison!between!values!needs!to!be!cautio ned.!!Nevertheless,!kn owing!the!kW/Kg !
value!helps!to!give!and!idea!of!energy!cost s!associated!with!CSA!systems.!!Hesy!Aqua culture!suggests!that!th eir!
recirculating!systems!operate!at!approximately!7‐8!kW/Kg.!Billund !Aqua!Service’s !hi gh!intens ity!systems! run !at !6.5!
kW /! Kg! and! their! low! intensity! at! 3.2! kW/Kg.!! A cco rding! t o! Schipp!(2006 )! average! recirculating! systems!run! o n!
approximately!8 .3!k W/Kg.!!!
!
Spotlight:!Mega‐Flow!(Isra el)!(Schipp,!2006 )!
The! Mega!Flow !system!has!been !developed!in!Israel!a nd!involves!large!volumes!of!water!being!moved!around!the!
fish! holding! system ! by! air.! The! developers! claim! it! is! extremely! cost! effective! to! operate.! The! South! Austral ian!
Government!is!investing!i n!a!small!sys tem!at!the!moment.!They!claim!that!for!the!pro duction!of!seabream,!Mega!
Flo w!uses!5.2!KWh!per!Kg!while!the!average!for!recirc ulating!sy stems!is!8.3!kW/Kg!(Sch ipp,!20 06).!
!
In!m ost!systems!the!largest!energy!needs!are!for!pumping!water!and!preparing!saltwater!(from!municipal!water!
source,! if! required! ( Romuel,! 2007) .! Thus! an ything! that! can! either! directly! reduce! the! pumping! needs! or ! offset!
other!energy!costs,!such!as!he ating,! will!help!with!ene rgy!savings.!Many!different!tec hniques!have!been!employed!
or!being!expl ored!to!reduce!energy!needs!and/or!incorporate!alternative!sources.!These!include:!
‐ Systems!designe d!to!harness!gravity!for! wa ter! flow!(Hesy!Aquaculture).!!
‐ Air!lifts!(Neptune!In dustries)!
‐ Methane! capture!(Neptune!Industries,!COMB,!SARGO™) !
‐ Wave!energy!
‐ Solar!systems!!
‐ Passive!heating!(Redfish!Farm)!!
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‐ Dewatering!s ludge!and!use!as!bio‐fuel!!
‐ Geo‐thermal!heating!(Sifurstjarnen!Farm).!
!
Another!issue!of!concern,!particul arly!in!arid!count ries,!is!water!consumpti on.!This!can!be!m easured!in!m
3
/Kg ,!or!
l/Kg,!of!fish!produced.!!Water!use!can!vary!considerably !from!105!l/Kg!for!RAS!syste ms!to!130,0 00!l/Kg!in!single!
pass!flow‐through!systems.!!S ome!systems! claim!require ments!as!low!as!50!l /Kg!(Ebon,!2007).!!
!
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10. Su mm ary!of!strengths!and!chall enges!!
!
The! variety! and! versatili ty! of! the! di fferent! CSA! technologies! is! encouraging.! ! It! demonstrates! that! CSA! can! be !
practiced! almost! anywhere! as! it! can! be! adapted! to! many! socio‐economic! an d! ecological! situations.! ! Clearly ,! if!
water!savi ngs!are!a!prime!concern!then!RAS!could!be !applied,!if !water!flow!is!not!an!issue!then!there!may!b e!cost!
sav ings!assoc iated!with!flow‐through!systems. !!!
!
Bel ow!is!a!summa ry!of!the!major!advantages!of!the!various!systems!reviewed!in !this!report,!as!compared!to!open!
net‐pens!or!cages.!!!!
!
Table'11:'Advan tag e'and'disadvantages'of'CS A'systems'(compared'with'pens)'
In!General!
Advan tages:!
• Control! of! growing! con diti ons:! including! temperature,! water! chemist ry! and!
turbidity,! disease,!etc.!
• Growth!cycles:!including!sho rtened!time!t o!h arvest,!size!of!the!species,!quality!
of!produc t,!as!well!as!o ptimum!harvest!points! and!ability!to !plan!for!harvest.!
• Better!Feed!to!B iomass!ratios:!due!t o!greater !control!of!growing!conditions!and!
life!cycles .!
• Greater! versat ility:! options! for! production! location, ! nearness! to! mar ket,!
ma rginal! lands,! etc.;! ability! to! respond! to! demographic! and! consumer! shits!
(some! syst ems! are! capable! of! growin g! different! species ! –! or! can! be! easily!
transformed.!!
• Control! of! outputs! and! effluents:! treatment! and! the! possibility! o f! reuse! as !
fertiliz er!or!input!fo r!ot her!fish!sy stems!(in!integra ted!aquaculture).!
• Risk!reductio n:!including!climate,!infection!and!d isease,!predation,!etc.!!
• Reduction!in!dire ct!operational!costs:!associa ted!with!feed!a nd!dise ase!control!
from!v accinations!and!antibiotics.!
• Greater!fish!intensity:!better!feed!consumption!and!co ntrol!of!metabolic!rates,!
less!nutrient! develo pment!fro m!lost! feed.!
• Potential! for! ‘Clean! product’:! produced! wi tho ut! ho rmones,! ant ibiotics! etc.;!
produced!in!env ironmentally!friendly!way;!Green!and!Organic!labelling.!
• Potential! for!niche! markets:!!either! by!spe cies,!availability!(live!to! market),!or!
size.!
• Less!area!use d!and!abil ity!to!use!marginalised! lands.!
• Options!for!v ariable!water!sources!
Disadvantages:!
• Inc rease!in!ca pital!costs :!res earch!and!development!is!costly,!s ystem!start‐up!is!
higher!than!net‐ pen.!
• Inc rease! in! di rect! operational! cost s:! oxygen! inputs! and! ma intaining! chem ical!
bal ances! of! the! water,! careful ! water! mon itoring,! energy! requirements,! input‐
output!water!treatmen t!requirements.!
• Complexity!of!technology.!
• Risks:!!potential! for!rapid!chemistry!alterations!resulting!in!quick ! and!massive!
die ‐offs,!depend ency!on!monitoring.!!
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Bel ow!is!a!table!comparing!th e!relative!adv antage s!and!disadvantages!associate d!with!various!CSA!technologies!as!
compared!to!one!another.!
Table'12:''Compara tive'advantages'and'disadvantages'betwe en'CSA'technologies'
Raceways!
Advan tages:!
• Stackable !for !optimum!use!of !space! and!for!us e!of!gravity!flow!to!r educe!
pumping!costs!
• Designed!for!specie s!
• Less!labour!intensive!to!cleaning !and!feedi ng!
• Easy!monitoring!of!fish!
Disadvantages:!
• If!they !are!very!long!(200!m)!water!quality!can!deteriorate!so!more!monitoring!
and!greater!v olumes!of !wa ter!are!needed.!!
• Additional!cleaning !of!water!may!be!needed!
• Requires!special !pellets!to!ensure!food!gets!the!end!of!raceway!
Tanks!
Advan tages:!
• Lar ge!volume!to!tank!area!
• Easier!fee ding!and!good!feed! conver sion!ra tios!!
• Good!control!and!easy!monitoring!of!fish!health!and!water!quality!
Disadvantages:!
• Need!cleaning!–!hig h!algae!growt h!if!flow!is!insufficient! .!More !difficult!to!clean!
as!they!are!usually!deeper!and!harder!to!acces s!than!raceways.!!
Flow‐through!
Advan tages:!
• Less!w ater!treatment!for!intake!water!
• Less!treatment!for!effluent!
• Simple!technologies!for!water!chemistr y!
Disadvantages:!
• High!water!use!
• Less!control!over!water!chemistry!and!temperature!
Recirculating!Systems!
Advan tages:!
• Good!control!of!water!chemistry!and!tempera ture!
• Low!w ater!us e!
• High!densities!and!produc tivity!
• Good!control!of!wastes!
Disadvantages:!
• Higher!costs!for!pumping!and!treatment!
• Technical ly!complex!
• High!risk!of!catastrophic!die‐off!due !chemi stry!alt erations!
Open!water!systems!
Advan tages:!
• Greater!available!space!
• Constant!temperature!
• Low!pumping!costs!
Disadvantages:!
• Weather!and !climate!dependent!
• Accessibility!
• Dif ficult!to!monitor !fish!(because!of!the!relative!s ize!and!depth!of!the!tanks!it!is!
difficult!to!make!detailed!monitoring!of!the!health!o f!th e!fish)!
• Dif ficult!to!cl ean!as!they!are!deep!and!underw ater,!and!therefore!harder!to!
access!than!land‐based!systems.!!
Natural!Ponds!and!Channels!
Advan tages:!
• Simple!technology!
• Low!capit al!c osts!
Disadvantages:!
• High!chemical!use!of!fungicides,!herbicides,!etc.!
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• Competition!for!nutrients!from!other!organisms!t hat!enter!
• Seepage!of!water!into!ground!!
!
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11. Conclusions!
!
The!number!of!sustained!commercial !operations!illustrates!that!CSA!is!a!viable!mea ns!of!commercially !producing!
fish! for! harvesting.! The! diversity,! in! ter ms! of! location,! species! and! socio‐eco nomic! conditions,! wh ere! these!
operations!are!fou nd! indicate!the! versatility! and!in novation! associated! with! CSA! technology.!!Producers! of!fish!
and!developers !of!CSA!technology!are!creating!commercial!operatio ns!in!countries !as!varie d!as!Icel and,!Mor occ o!
and! China,! in! rural! areas! and! in! semi‐urban! zones,! using! oce an! water,! ground water! and! even! municipal! water!
supplies.! Practic al! examples! exist! for! the! use! of! closed! s ystem! aquacultu re! for! growing! finfish,! seaweeds,!
shellfish,!crust ace ans ,!and!other!invertebrate!spec ies,!as!we ll!as!for!pharmaceuti cal!p rod uction.!While!many!CSA!
operations! associated! with! finfish! are! hatcheries! for! fish! smolts! and! j uveniles! f or! on‐growing! in! net‐pens! and!
cages,! increasing!development!is!occurring! for!raising!a!variety! of!finfish! fully! to!harvest!size.!At!this!point,! the!
most! common! species! curr ently! being! harvested! to! full! size! are! Nile! tilapia ! (Oreochromis* niloticus ),! tro ut!
(Oncorhynchus* mykis s),! Arctic! char! (Salnelinus* alpinus),! Atlantic! halibut! (Hippo glossus* hippoglos sus),! turbot!
(Scopt halmu s*maximus),!barramundi!(Lates*calcarifer),!sev eral!varieties!of!Australian!perch!(Macquaria*ambigua,*
Scortu m* barcoo,! Sander* lucioperca, * Bidyanus* bidyanus),! seabream! (Sparus* aurata,* Pagellus* bogaraveo)! and !
seabass!(C entropristis*striata),*Mor one*saxatilis).!!Also,!there!are!s eve ral!s pecies!having!local!im por tan ce!such!as!
eel!(Anguilla!Anguilla)!in!Europe, !and!catfish!(Ictalurus*punctatus)!in!the!US.!*
!
The! diffe rent! technologies! employed! are! almost! equally! as! varied. ! While! the! basic! principles! behind! wate r! and!
waste!treatm ent,!feeding,!and!monitoring!are!con sistent;!the!methods!to!achiev e!them!are!not.!Companies!su ch!
as! Atlantech! Group! and! UNI‐Aqua,! amongst! others, ! have! uni que! designs! and ! products! to! accommodate! l ocal!
needs!for!all!steps!of!the!op eration.!Indeed,!one !can!say!that!there!are!almost!as!many!different!systems!as!there!
are ! operations,! each! operation! being! tailored! to! specific ! needs.! !What! al l! C AS! systems! share,! however,! is! thei r!
abi lity! to! separate! the! culture! of! fish! from ! the! natural! environment,! control! their! inputs! to! reduce! disease,!
optimize!growth!and!minimiz e!mortality,!and!control!their!output s!to!limit!external!costs!to!the!enviro nment.!!
!
At!this!juncture!in!the!evolution!of!aq uaculture,!considerable !debate!remains!as !to!the!adaptab ility!of!CSA!t o!the!
range!of!commodity!specie s.!Technological!a dvancements ,!regulatory!developments!and!the!selection!of!species!
will!continue!to!int ermingle!over!the!coming!years.!Local!variables!such!as!cli mate,!water!availability,!alternative!
energies,! access,! socio‐economic!co nditions,! amongst!oth ers, ! will! help!determine!of! the! local! suitability! of!CSA.!!
Other! factors,! such! as! improvements! in! energy! ef ficienc ies,! are! already ! impact ing! t he! e conomic! viabi lity! and!
ecological!appropriateness!of!these! technolog ies. !!
!
!There!is!convergence!among!the!researc hers!and!producers!interviewed!and!the!literature,!indicati ng!that!CSA!is!
commercially!viable!for!niche!market!fish,!such!as!live!tilapia!or!ba rramundi. !!There!is!a lso!grow ing!consens us!that!
‘organical ly’!and!‘environmentally!fri endly’!produced!fish!are!able!to !command!higher!prices!such!that!comm odity!
fish! could! be! moved! into! a! niche! market.! As! evidenced! in! Europe,! environmental! and! hea lth! concer ns! are!
increasingly!driving!consumer!demands!as!well!as !prompting!tighter!regulatory!conditions!for!food!production!in!
general.! While! this! has! been! sufficient! to! move! the! industry! rapidly! in! Europe,! additional! measures! may! be!
necessary!to!increase!the!pace!of!C SA!in!North!America.!Th e!Open!Ocean!Aquac ulture!Bill!in!the!US!is!pro posing !
added! costs! for! open! net‐pen! producti on! (Walters,! 2007).! This! line! of! action! has! been! echoed! by!
recommendations!from!the!BC!Special!Committee!on!Sustainable!Aquacult ure!a sking!for!a!c omplete!transit ion!to!
closed !containment!aquacultur e,!and!the!World!Bank!call!fo r!the!internalization!of !aqu aculture!costs.!Combined!
socio‐environmental!con cerns,!increasing!efficiencies!of!production!and!re gulatory!cha nges!are!likely!to !make!CSA!
an! increasingly! inte resting ! option! for! future! fish! production! (Wal ters,! 2007;! Gústavsson,! 2 007,! Øie stad,! 2007a;!
van!Eijk,!2007).!!
!
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What!i s!clear!is!that!aquacultu re!will!remain!an!important!means!of!providing!fish!for!the!globa l!food!supply!and!
that!new!technologies,!trade,!consumer!dema nds!and!regulatory!changes!will!influence!the!development!of!CSA.!
!
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12. Gl ossa ry!!
!
Major*terms*used* in*this*r eport*are*as*follow s:*
!
CSA! ‐! Closed! system! aquaculture! is! define d! as: ! ‘Any! system! of! fish! productio n! that! create s! a! controlled! interface!
between!the!culture!( fish)!and!the!n atural!environment.’!
!
FCR!‐!Feed!conversion!ratio!is!the!Kg!of!feed!needed!to!raise!1!Kg! of!fish.!Clearly, !the!lower!the!ratio!the!better!the!
conversion.!!
!
RAS!‐!Recirculating!Aquac ulture!Systems !
!
Terms*for*f ish*used*in* this*document*are* the* following:*
!
Abalone!(Haliotis*spp.)!
Barramundi!(Lates* calc arifer)!
Catfish!“Channel” !(Ictalur us*punctatus),”African”!(Cl arias*gariepinus)!
Car p,!European*(C ypri nus*carpio) !
Char,!Arctic!(Salvelinus*al pinus)!
Cod!(Gadus*morhua)!“Murray”!(Maccullochella*peelii),”Sleepy”!(Oxy eleotris*lineolatus) ,!“Black”!(Notothenia*
mic role pidota) !
Eel! (Anguilla*anguilla)!
Flounder,!Japa nese!(Paralichthys*olivaceus)!
Halibut !(Hippoglossus*hippog loss us),!“California”!(Paralich thys*californicus)!
Mulloway!(Sciaena*antarctica)!
Perch,! Golder!(Macquaria* ambigua)!
Perch,! Jade!(Scortu m*b arcoo)!
Perch,! Pike!(Sander*lucioperca)!
Perch,! Silver!(Bidy anu s*bidyanus)!
Perch,! Yellow!(Perca*f lavescens)!
Pike,!Walleyed!(Sander*vitreus*vitreus)!
Puf fer,!Tiger*(Takifugu*rubripes)!
Salmon,!Atlantic!(Salmo*salar)!!
Salmon,!Chinook!(Oncorhy nchus*tshawytscha)!
Salmon,!Coho!(Oncorhynchus*kisutch)!
Salmon,!Socke ye!(Oncorhy nchus*nerka)*
Sea bass!“European”!(Centropristis*str iata),*“Striped”*(Moro ne*saxatilis)*
Sea bream!“Gil t‐head”!(Sparus*aurata),”Blackspotted”!(Pagellus*boga raveo)!
Sole!(Solea*solea)!
Sturgeon!White*(Acipenser*tr ansmontanus), !
Tila pia,!Nile!(O reochromis *niloticus)!
Tro ut,!Rainbow!(Onco rhynchus*mykiss)!!
Tur bot!(Scophthalmus*maximus)!Note!that !there!s everal!different!species!of!turbot!including!the!Pacific,!
Gre enland!and!Eu ropean!(Psetta*maxima).!The! Psetta*maxima!is!usually!referred!to!as!S cophthalmus*
maximus!in!trade! literature!and!industry!publications.!
Tuna,!Bluefin!(Thun nus*thynnu s)!
Tuna,!Yellowfin!(Thun nus*albacares)!
Wo lfish!(Anarhichas*minor)!
Yellowtail!king fish!( Seriola*l alandi*lalandi) '
!
!
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13. Company!Listings!
!
Agassiz!Aqua!Farms!(p34)!
WEB:!www.agassizaquafarms.com
!!
PHONE:!204‐785‐8410!
EMAIL:!info@agassizaquafarms.com!!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!John!Bottomley!
!
AgriMarine!Industries!(see!also!Middle!Bay!Sustainable! Aquaculture!Inst itute)!!
WEB:!www.agrimarine.com
!!
PHONE:!604‐683‐7966!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!Richard!Buchanan !(rb uchanan@sustainable‐ aquaculture.ca)!!!
!
Akvaplan‐Niva!(p12)!
WEB:!www.akvaplan.niva. no
!
PHONE:!+47‐77‐75‐03‐00!
EMAIL:!info@akvaplan .niva.no!!
COUNTRY:!Norw ay/Spain!
CONTACT:!Øi estad,!V!
!
Aquaculture!Developments!LLC!(p14)!
WEB:!www.aquaculturedevelopments.com
!
EMAIL:!info@aquaculturedevelo pments.com!!
COUNTRY:!US!
!
Aquaculture!Production!Technology!Ltd.!!(p40)!
WEB:!www.aquaculture.co.il
!!
PHONE:!972‐5‐870‐4585!
EMAIL:!info@aquaculture‐israel. com!!!!!
COUNTRY:!Israel!
!
AquaOptima !(p15)!
WEB:!www.aquaoptima.com
!
PHONE:!+47‐73‐56‐11‐30!
EMAIL:!info@aquaoptima .com!!
COUNTRY:!Norw ay!
!
Aquatech !Solutions!(p16)!!
WEB:!www.aquatech‐solutions.c om
!!
PHONE:!+45‐7588‐0222!
EMAIL:!ole@ aquatec‐solutions.com!!
COUNTRY:!Denmark!
CONTACT:!!O le!Enggard!Pedersen ,!Managing!Director!
!
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Aqua!Farms!(p37)!
PHONE:!604‐626 ‐6747!
EMAIL:!Albright@sfu.ca!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!Larry !Albright!
!
Atlantech !(p69)!
WEB:!www.atlantech.c a
!!
PHONE:!902‐368‐7500!
EMAIL:!info@atlantech.ca !
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!A.!Desbarat s!
!
Ausyfish!Pty.!Ltd.!(p 38)!
WEB:!www.ausyfish.co m
!!
PHONE:!+69‐010‐810‐670!
EMAIL:!enquiries@ausyfish.com!!!
COUNTRY:!Australia!
!
Baltim ore!Ur ban!Recirculating!Mariculture!System!(p18)!!
(Unive rsity!of!Maryl and!Biotechn ology!Institute,!Center!of!Marine! Biotechnolog y)!!
WEB:!www.u mbi.umd.edu
!!
PHONE:!410‐234‐8800!
EMAIL:!zo har @umbi.umd.edu!!
COUNTRY:!US!
CONTACT:!!D r.!Yonathan!Z ohar!
!
Billund!Aquaculture!Se rvice!(p21)!
WEB:!www.b illund‐ aqua.dk
!
PHONE:!+45‐75‐33‐87‐20!
COUNTRY:!Denmark!
!
Cel l!Aquaculture!Systems!Europe!(p23)!
WEB:!www.cellaqua.com
!!
PHONE:!+61‐8‐9336‐7122!
EMAIL:!info@cellaqua.com!!!
COUNTRY:!Australia!(Head!Office)!
!
Fut ure!SEA!Tech nologies!(p42 )!
WEB:!www.futuresea.c om
!!
PHONE:!250‐618‐0968!
EMAIL:!clarka@island.net! !
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!Andy!Cla rk!!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
!
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HESY!Aquaculture!BV!(p25)!
WEB:!www.h esy.com
!!
PHONE:!+31‐174‐220140!
EMAIL:!office@hesy.com!
COUNTRY:!The!Netherlands!
CONTACT:!!A.!Debon!
!
Holar!Univer sity,!Department!of!Aquaculture!and!Fisheries!(p33)!
WEB:!www.h olar.is!
PHONE:!454!4556300!
EMAIL:!addi@holar .is!
COUNTRY:!Iceland!
CONTACT:!Ar nþór!Gúst avsson!
!
Icy!Water s!(p32) !
WEB:!www.icywaters.com
!!
PHONE:!867‐668‐7012!!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
!
JHL!Consulting!(p27)!
PHONE:!250‐897‐1334!
EMAIL!info@jlhcon sulting .tv!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!John!Ho lder!
!
Maricultu re!Syst em s!(SARGO!System)!(p45)!
WEB:!www.sargo.net
!
PHONE:!425.778.5975!
EMAIL:!info@sargo.net!!
COUNTRY:!US!
CONTACT:!!D avid!Meilahn!(dmeilahn@sargo.net)!
!
Mc Robert!Aquacult ure!Group!(p42)!
WEB:!www.mcrobert.com.au/
!!
PHONE:!+61‐0‐8‐9433‐2900!
COUNTRY :!Australia!
!
Middle!Bay!Sustainable!Aquacult ure!Institute!(p47)!
WEB:!www.sustainable‐aquaculture.ca
!!
PHONE:!250‐286‐0019!
EMAIL:!rwalk er@sustai nalbe‐aquaculture.ca!!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!!Rob!Walker!
!
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Rushing!Waters!Trout!Farm!(p31)!
WEB:!www.rushingwaters.net!
!
PHONE:!262‐495‐2089!
EMAIL:!info@rushingwate rs.net!!
COUNTRY:!US!
!
Scotian!Halib ut!(p28)!
WEB:!www.h alibut.ns.ca!
!
PHONE:!902‐471‐1113!
EMAIL:!brianblanchard@klis.com!!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!Br ian!Blanchard!
!
Swift!Aquafarm!(p3 6)!
PHONE:!604‐796‐3497!
COUNTRY:!Canada!
CONTACT:!Br uce!Swift!
!
Neptune!Industries !(p41)!
WEB:!www.n eptuneindustries.net
!
PHONE:!561‐482‐6408!
EMAIL:!info@neptuneindustr ies. net!!!
COUNTRY:!US!
CONTACT:!Ernes t!Papadoyianis!
!
UNI‐Aqua!(p29)!
WEB:!www.u ni‐aqua.com!
!
PHONE:!+45‐7551‐3211!
EMAIL:!bur@uni‐aqua.com!!
COUNTRY:!Denmark!
CONTACT:!Bent!Uru p!
!
!
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14. Refer ences!
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Bevan,!D.,!K.!Chandroo!and!R.!Moccia!(2002).! Predator*Control*in*Commercial*Aqu aculture*in*Cana da.!Uni versity!
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Bla ck,!E.,!R.!Gow en,!H.!Rosenthal,!E.!Rot h,!D.!Stechy!and! F.!Taylor!( 1997).! The!costs!of!eutrophication!from!salmon!
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