One Example of How an Aquaculture Operation Works
Water availability is of course the most significant factor in determining the potentiality of any agricultural endeavour. To successfully obtain a freshwater aquaculture permit in Australia, pertaining to both pond and indoor Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) tank culture systems, the proponent must detail the intended water sources to satisfy a specific amount of production area. The water source must out of necessity be free from pollution and contaminants.
Ideally of course, as a contingency, multiple sources of water would be ideal. However, some high intensive large scale tank culture ventures do rely solely on underground, bore extracted sources. Not all underground bore water is suitable for aquaculture use, and may require treatment at an additional cost. Suitable land size is necessary to predominantly rely on run-off water sources, requiring a relatively large reservoir dam system.
And of course surface run-off is dependent on increasingly unreliable weather conditions. So too river and creek sources to a slightly lesser degree. Pumping from rivers and creeks may impact on the ecology of these precious ecosystems. Even underground water extraction can be affected by draught conditions. Ultimately, to increase sustainability and long term commercial viability, more operational output waste water must be properly filtered and re-used as a source of ‘in-put’ supply again.
This can be achieved through the use of artificial wetlands, the permit required use of effluent ponds, and intensive filtration methods including ultra-violet (UV) and ozone treatment. To maximise water use efficiency however, hydroponics and/or irrigation vegetable, fruit and/or herb production operations are perfectly viable to utilise the waste water from the grow-out operations, to take advantage of the nutrient rich waste water before the water is then directed to the effluent ponds and water treatment systems.
Pond based fish farms must rely on a suitably sized reservoir dam system to sufficiently supply the grow out ponds and purging tanks. It is imperative to assess the soil type in order to determine the suitability for water holding capacity, and if any additional procedures are needed to improve the water holding capacity. Indoor RAS farms may have a reservoir tank system. Preferably the reservoir system needs to be gravity fed into the culture grow-out ponds and tanks for simplicity and energy efficiency.
A purging process is necessary in any aquaculture operation to evacuate the aquatic stocks digestive system, remove unwanted flavours caused by an artificial diet, remove unwanted flavours caused by algae and mud caused by pond culture, and satisfy the requirements demanded by the markets. AusAquaTec have developed a unique pre-purging process that enhances the flavour of certain Australian native freshwater fish.
