Fish farming is expected to continue growing at a rate of 5% per year over the next decade. Businesses ranging from Marine Harvest, the largest salmon producer in the world, to overnight pop-up companies operating in small warehouses and basements are supplying the demand.
While growth at this rate can generate exceptional profits, it can also bring many problems. As with land animals, when fish farms become crowded, this makes it very easy for diseases to spread. Viral infections are particularly dangerous, since fish that survive their infections can become carriers and transmit viruses to non-infected fish, even if they present no symptoms.
In addition, fish are often given food that makes them grow faster but can cause health problems. Lipid visceral degeneration is a condition from which many fish suffer and is a result of being fed products such as other fish and crustaceans with a high density of fat and carbohydrates.
While many of these diseases can be treated with antibiotics and other drugs or chemicals, the best solution is a water quality program that limits the potential exposure and spread of waterborne pathogens.
Whether a facility is using a Recirculation Aquaculture System (RAS) or flow-through system, the introduction of contaminants must be controlled. A good supply of water, adequate in both quantity and quality, is essential to a successful fish farming operation. Ground water obtained from deep wells or springs is the best source of water for fish culture. Generally, it is free of pollutants and has relatively high hardness levels, which are beneficial under some circumstances. Municipal water supplies also can be used after chlorine, fluoride and other chemicals are removed.
Other sources of water – particularly surface water from streams, rivers, ponds and lakes – are not recommended for fish culture. Surface water may contain fish diseases, parasites, pesticides and other pollutants that can kill or slow the growth of fish. Testing the quantity and quality of the available water supply is one of the first steps a prospective fish farmer should take.
Land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) is a partially closed loop aquaculture technology that has recently gained widespread market acceptance and scale. RAS is not only environmentally sustainable but also helps conserve water in modern aquaculture systems.
The technology also enables a better control over the farm environment, greatly reducing biosecurity risks and disease outbreaks.
With RAS, fish farmers can efficiently manage feed and oxygen levels, thus providing a healthier growth environment. RAS facilities can be set up closer to the consumer market enabling shortened supply chains and a reduced carbon footprint of the facility.
Simply put, RAS involves multi-step treatment of water to make it suitable for reuse in the system. Water treatment steps involve solids removal, filtration, denitrification, oxidation & disinfection.Since RAS are partially closed systems, a small percentage of fresh water is required to supplement the tanks. This makes water disinfection a critical part of any RAS based operation. Our RASLine range of UV products are especially designed to meet this vital need of a RAS facility
Ensuring water quality parameters are achieved typically requires the use of filtration, ozone or UV disinfection, or some combination of the three. While ozone has traditionally been used within this application, it has come under intense scrutiny due to the high level of technical training required to operate it correctly and its unforgiving nature in the event of an overdose or failure. With several high-profile ozone system failures that have resulted in mass aquaculture deaths, filtration and UV are becoming more commonplace solutions.
One of the biggest advantages of UV systems is that they have no byproduct formation and leave no residual in the water. This ensures that fish remain protected and are not subjected to harmful chemicals. UV plays a vital role in destroying bacteria, viruses, protozoans, cysts, spores, unwanted algae and other microorganisms. Also, when coupled with filtration, UV can provide a robust solution from flows as low as a few liters per minute all the way up to 40 million liters per day.
Characterized by rapid growth, increasing stock densities and tighter environmental regulation, the need for a chemical free disinfection process to control fish diseases and manage environmental impact has never been higher.
Hanovia RASLine range of Fish Farming UV solutions protects your fish, your processes and the environment from harmful contamination without resorting to chemicals.
Each product in the RASLine range is Application Optimized to deliver protection in a package which:
Hanovia RASLine UV systems can play a vital part in aquaculture installations, by destroying bacteria, viruses, protozoans, cysts, spores, unwanted algae and other microorganisms. With systems ranging from capacities of under 1 m3/h to over 2,000 m3/h, RASLine UV provides an effective barrier to unwanted organisms in aquaculture systems’ stock water.
RASLine PQ IL™
Approved by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute (NVI), a leading center of expertise in biosecurity in fish and land animals, the RASLine PQ IL™ system is built for critical disinfection (those that require approvals) and for low UVT applications.
RASLine D EO™
Suitable for clear waters, the RASLine D EO™ is a USEPA validated, energy optimized general disinfection system that integrates an innovative single medium pressure lamp chamber design with sensors and intelligent control technology to automatically deliver optimum disinfection performance with high operational efficiency.
RASLine D PH™
The RASLine D PH™ system is a versatile system that is suitable for a wide range of uncertified general disinfection applications across a range of UVTs and flows.
Fish disease organisms treatable by UV and RASLine is applied in:
The RASLine range is applied in many Fish farming applications including:
Source: Hanovia