Aquaculture Production Systems & Engineering

COURSE OUTLINE

1. PROGRAM : BFMT

2. COURSE TITLE : Aquaculture Production. Systems &

Engineering

3. COURSE CODE :

4. YEAR :

5. PRESENTED TO : Natural sciences

6. PRESENTED BY : Aquaculture and Fisheries Science Department

7. LECTURE HOURS/WEEK:

8. PRACTICALS/TUTORIAL HOURS/WEEK:

9. METHOD OF ASSESSMENT: Course Work 30%

End of Course Exam 70 %

10. AIM(S) OF STUDY

To enhance students’ knowledge in advanced aquaculture production systems and

engineering that will enable them to design, construct, operate and maintain aquaculture
facilities.

11. COURSE OBJECTIVES

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

a) conduct detailed process description and performance testing of different
aquaculture systems/facilities in use worldwide;

b) evaluate the requirements for the various aquaculture systems/facilities with

Construction experts.

12. TOPICS OF STUDY

1) Classification of aquaculture systems

2) Site Selection for Aquaculture
a. Water quality and quantity
b. Quality and survey of soils
c. Topographical survey

3) Designs and Construction of Ponds

a. Choice of pond types, dike designs and costs
b. Materials for pond construction
c. Preparation of the construction site
d. Choice of earth-moving methods
4) Water Supply Systems and Fluids
a. Properties of water
b. Water quantity and sources
c. Water quality and its improvement
d. Water flow and level instrumentation
e. Water distribution structures
f. Bringing water to fish ponds
g. Requirements, flow and storage of water
h. Control of water losses by seepage and evaporation
i. Fluid dynamics and statics
j. Liquid level sensing
k. Liquid flow measurements

5) Topographical Features for Aquaculture

a. conducting a topographical survey
b. Distance, angle, slope and height measurements
c. Direct leveling

6) Cage Designs, Construction and Cage Culture

a. Planning for cage culture
b. Cage designs and layout
c. Cage construction materials
d. Cage construction
e. Locating fish cages
f. Stocking of cages and their management
g. Cage culture (merits and demerits)

7) Tanks, Raceways, Net Pens: Construction and Fish Production

a. Designs of tanks
b. Materials for tank construction
c. Construction of tanks
d. Aquaculture in tanks
e. Maintenance of tanks
f. Designs of raceways
g. Materials for raceway construction
 h. Construction of raceways
i. Aquaculture in raceways
j. Maintenance of raceways
k. Designs of net pens
l. Materials for net pen construction
m. Construction of net pens
n. Aquaculture in net pens
o. Maintenance of net pens

8) Filtration of Water in Aquaculture

a. Mechanical filters
b. Gravitational separation
c. Chemical filters
d. Biological filters
e. Denitrification filters
f. Plant filters
g. Maintenance of filters
9) Water Pumps
a. Centrifugal pumps
b. Rotary pumps
c. Types and operation
d. Reciprocating pumps
e. Types and operation
f. Airlift pumps
g. Pump selection for aquaculture
h. Fitting a pump to the system
i. Power sources for pumps
j. Maintenance of pumps

10) Aeration and Pure Oxygen Systems

a. Diurnal changes of dissolved oxygen content of pond water
b. Oxygen consumption by pond water
c. Aeration devices for fish ponds
d. Aerators used for pure oxygen systems
e. Mass Transfer Processes of Aerators
a. Degassing systems
11) Recirculation aquaculture systems
a. Design of re-circulating aquaculture systems
b. Design of oxygen Supply
c. Water flow to satisfy oxygen requirements of the fish
d. Design for Ammonia Removal

PRACTICAL TOPICS

a) Estimation of variables in a water budget equation

 b) Estimation of flow rates in open channels and pipes
c) Performance testing of aerators and biofilters
d) Field trip to an intensive/commercial aquaculture farm

13. PRESCRIBED TEXTS

Cowx, I.G. (1992). Aquaculture Development in Africa. Training and Reference Manual
for Aquaculture Extensionists. London.

Lawson, T. B. (1995). Fundamentals of Aquaculture Engineering. Chapman

and Hall, London.

Yoo, K. H. and Boyde, C. E. (1994). Hydrology and Water Supply for Pond
Aquaculture. Chapman and Hall, London.
14. RECOMMENDED READINGS

Beveridge, M. (1990). Cage Aquaculture. Fishing News Books, Surrey.

Egna, H. S. and Boyd, C. E. (Eds). (1997). Dynamics of Pond Aquaculture. CRC Press
New York.

Lee, J. H. W., Y. K. Cheung, and P.P. S. Wong (1991).Forecasting of dissolved oxygen

in marine fish culture zone. Journal of Environmental Engineering. 117 (6): 816-833.

Losordo, T.M., Masser, M. P. and Rakocy, J. E. (1998). Recirculating Aquaculture

Tank Production Systems. An Overview of Critical Considerations SRAC Publication
No. 451

Losordo, T.M., Masser, M. P. and Rakocy, J. E. (1999). Recirculating Aquaculture

Tank Production Systems. A Review of Component Options. SRAC Publication No. 453

Piedrahita, R. H. (1984). Development of a computer model of the aquaculture pond

ecosystem. Ph.D dissertation. University of California, Davis, California. 162 pp.

Santos Neto, C.D. and Piedrahita. R.H. (1994). Stochastic modeling of temperature in
stratified aquaculture ponds. CRSP report, work plan 7, study 2.

Stickney, R.R. (1994). Principles of Aquaculture. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Thomas, B. L. (1995). Fundamentals of Aquaculture Engineering. Chapman & Hall,

New York.

Upadhyay, A.S.(1994). Handbook on Design, Construction and Equipments in Coastal

Aquaculture (Shrimp Farming).Allied Publishers, Bombay.

Wheaton, F. W. (1987). Aquacultural Engineering. John Wiley and Sons, New York.