22 MARCH 2014 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WAS.ORG the-stage for the panel discussion with presentations on RAS design innovations and opportunities for new technologies. They were then joined by Eric Hobson, KC Hosler (PRAqua/In-Situ), Nick Pranger (Aquaculture Enterprises), Ivar Warrer-Hansen, and Andrew Wright (technical advisor for Tides Canada) for a panel discussion moderated by Steven Summerfelt. Major points included: • Panelists largely agreed that existing land-based closedcontainment technology is adequate to produce food-size salmon. However, improvements are still required to reduce the fixed capital and electrical costs for these systems. • The most important factor for expansion of a new technology in an existing industry (e.g., salmon farming to food size) is the economics of the technology. Because businesses operate with the single primary goal of profit, they will embrace new technologies that contribute to maximizing profit. • Broader implementation and improvement of denitrification technologies will help reduce water flushing requirements, practically eliminate waste discharge, reduce heating costs, and allow these facilities to be more easily sited. In addition to the denitrification technologies described above, membrane biological reactors have tremendous promise and are becoming more costeffective given their wide adoption in other industries. • Although oxygenation and carbon dioxide stripping technologies have improved, further improvements would help reduce energy costs and potentially provide for a healthier fish environment. For example, achieving low carbon dioxide limits in the culture tank, such as 12 mg/L, clearly begins to increase energy costs geometrically. A better understanding of the water quality limits for different life-stages of Atlantic salmon (and other fish) is required. • Improved technologies to dewater biosolids need to be adopted. Dewatering to filter cake consistency allows biosolids to be more readily converted into a marketable product, especially when they are generated in brackish or seawater systems. • Nutrients must be reclaimed and not wasted. Developing markets for new products, such as organic-listed liquid fertilizers, composts, and other horticulture products, will be important to help improve the environmental sustainability and revenue potential of these fish farms. • Selling salmon from land-based closed-containment systems into niche, premium markets is an early strategy to maximize revenue, but increased production will eventually place the salmon into the general farmed salmon market. Panelists also remarked on the importance of training opportunities for personnel operating and managing large, land-based, closed-containment facilities. The rapid growth in land-based closed-containment facilities for Atlantic salmon smolt production has created a notable labor shortage. Chile has now shifted more than half of Atlantic salmon smolt production to land-based closed-containment systems. Expectations from Norway suggest that Atlantic salmon smolt production is moving away from flow-through systems and that over half of all of the smolt produced could come from land-based closed-containment systems in over a decade. Similar growth in RAS production facilities is occurring elsewhere, but not at the magnitude seen in Norway and Chile. This existing industry could be a good source of talent, at least to fill certain key positions, but more formal training programs must be implemented Conclusions The presentations highlighted how land-based closedcontainment systems can increase farmed fish production in systems that practically eliminate water pollution, minimize water use, improve freshness and safety, reduce business risk, and are economically competitive with other established fish production technologies. In addition, land-based closed-containment systems use water recirculation technologies that can meet point-source effluent discharge regulations and reclaim the nutrients that would normally be wasted. The ability to site these facilities in many locations means they can provide a fresh product, reduce shipping costs, and capitalize on cheap electricity when such locations are available. At the conclusion of the Summit, Eric Patel, a Tides Canada advisor, provided a wrap-up that summarized the tremendous progress since the First Aquaculture Innovation Workshop (NCTC, January 17-18, 2011) and key advances that are required. The First AIW included only 33 participants from just the US and Canada, whereas this Fifth AIW had four times as many attendees representing six times as many countries. At the First AIW, workshop organizers knew of no commercial land-based closedcontainment systems growing salmon to food-size, although there were several projects about to begin. In contrast, there are now at least nine land-based closed-containment farms stocked with salmon to be raised to food-size. Excitingly, total production will approach 5000 mt annually when these facilities have reached their full production levels, and there is talk (often covered by the trade press) of potentially 10,000 mt of additional production. It is clear that confidence in these technologies is rising rapidly and that investor interest has been stimulated, but that many are waiting to see industry success before moving. Private investment in land-based closed-containment fish farms is growing, and projects now range from $1.5 to $30 million in terms of capital investment. There are several more projects like the ‘Namgis First Nation’s Salmon Farm in the pipeline in North America and many more around the world to produce salmon to food-size. Each of these projects will produce an economic stimulus and jobs in rural communities during facility construction, throughout the supply chain, and during fish production. These innovations will allow fish farm expansion in North America, Europe, and around the world to increase farmed fish production with minimal environmental degradation. The next Aquaculture Innovation Workshop will be held in Vancouver, British Columbia, October 27-28, 2014. Notes Steven Summerfelt and Laura Christianson, The Conservation Fund Freshwater Institute, 1098 Turner Road, Shepherdstown, WV, 25443; s.summerfelt@freshwaterinstitute.org and l.christianson@freshwaterinstitute.org. The program, participant list and most presentations are available for download at: tidescanada.org/salmon/aquacultureinnovation-workshops-and-reports/
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