Preventing Catastrophic Fish Farm Failure

Catastrophic events are the Number 1 Killer of well-intentioned, unprepared, medium–high intensity fish farms. Losses encountered can often lead to complete business failure.  Unmitigated or poorly-timed interventions during periods of unexpected electrical power outages are the Number 1 catastrophic event. 

Any farm that aerates or moves water can be at risk. The greater the fish density, the greater the risk. While this applies to both indoor RAS and outdoor “RAS within a pond”, outdoor farms tend to have more intervention opportunities.

How can this risk be eliminated or reduced? A good back-up system is NOT enough, unless you have a hobby farm and can afford to lose your crop.

Good “crop security” mandates REDUNDANT BACK-UP SYSTEMS.  Power outage warning systems with text and voice auto-dialers, etc, are fine, but “Power On” does not equate to “O2 On”. While power outage warnings are good and can help provide early warnings, they do not monitor against blower failures, manifold leaks, or numerous other system failures. Therefore, O2 monitoring is also strongly encouraged.

Blower failure can be off-set somewhat via multiple blowers connected to a common manifold with possible solenoid-activated start-ups, valves, or discharge sharing.

Good prevention starts with solid planning, which may start small and with minimal investment, but then grows more robust as the value of the crop increases.

Because “aquaculture is now agriculture” under federal and most state laws, crop insurance is always worth investigating.

“Eyes-on” may not be the most favorite tool in the tool box, especially in this age of automation, but it should not be under-rated. While live-feed video and water quality data can be available 24/7, on a world-wide basis via satellite, there is no substitution for motivated, human observation. When there is doubt, it’s great to have someone living close to the farm, especially for temporary interventions, such as starting a “self-starting” generator.

Fish farmers using or interested in “In-Pond Raceway Systems (IPRS’s)” are invited to contact Superior Aquaculture for additional, sometime innovative suggestions for “Backing-up Your Back-ups”.

Human Disease Increase Mirrors Decreased Omega-3’s

Chronic Degenerative Diseases (CDD’s), the “Who’s Who” of today’s killer diseases, e.g. cancers, heart disease, diabetes, and dementia have replaced the contagious diseases of yesterday, e.g. rickets, scurvy, and the plague.

The increase of CDD’s and developmental disabilities over the last 100 years is a mirror image of our plummeting history of lower omega-3 consumption, sourced primarily from fish. Antioxidant omega-3’s have been replaced by pro-inflammatory omega-6’s, sourced primarily from soy beans, sun flower, cotton seed, and related plants. (Now it’s also happening in our fish feed.) Oxidative stress at the cellular level is the well-known cause of most CDD’s.

Most critical is the ratio of omega 3’s to 6’s. Fifty to one hundred years ago, that ratio was about a healthy 1:3. Today, the ratio is more like 1: 17. Not good!

First, we have made our society perpetually ill, neurologically ill-equipped, and drug-dependent through our over-indulgence in processed foods and heavy doses of omega-6’s. Now, we’re doing the same thing to our fish, and in the process, removing one of our last bastions providing us with ESSENTIAL omega-3’s.

Superior Aquaculture stands ready to assist those who might be interested in exploring alternative options.

Hatchery Bred Salmon Survival 10 to 20 Times Less Than Wild

“Billions of hatchery-bred juvenile salmon are released…every year, and their survival is between 10 and 20 times less than that of wild salmon.” (Reimer and Dodd, Scientific Reports, 2016.) Could this be related to our last 2 releases, i.e. hearing deformities, lower omega-3 content in fish, and reduced omega-3 content in fish feeds? 

Look for our next release focused on what all this means for the planet’s top predator…

Hatchery Bred Salmon Found Hearing Impaired

As many as half of the world’s hatchery-bred salmon have trouble hearing, according to a study published recently in Scientific Reports. The hearing loss is owing to a deformity of the sagittal otolith, the primary hearing structure of the inner ear. Could this be tied to the omega-3, fish feed deficiencies described in our previous release? (Source: WHITE PAPER, SPECIAL Hatchery and Fisheries Research Report,  Warecki, J; June 2016.)

Superior Aquaculture to Provide 50% Increase in Omega-3’s

Recent studies show that Superior Aquaculture’s (SA’s) “In Pond Floating Raceway Systems” (IPFRS) can potentially increase the omega-3 content of many farmed fish by about 50%.  This follows on the heels of a recent study by Stirling University that reveals that, “…the amount of omega-3 fatty acid (an anti-oxidant) in farmed salmon in the UK has decreased by 50% in the past 10 years”.

This means that consumers would now need to consume twice as much salmon to obtain the same amount of omega-3’s as they did 10 years ago. The cause is linked to less fish and more pro-inflammatory soybeans in commercial fish feeds.

SA’s system allows for capture and feeding of live, wild, omega-3 rich, zooplankton and phytoplankton while reducing the fertility of the surrounding water. Plankton processing can yield massive amounts of high-value nutrients and oils for a wide array of human health and animal feed supplements. Reader inquiries are welcomed.

As Seen In Fish Farming News!

Thanks again to ”Fish Farming News” and their recent article providing further in-sights into some of the early pioneers of Floating In-pond Raceways.

More significantly, we would like to thank Bob Robinson of Fish Farming News for his most current, independent assessment of today’s new-age, In-pond Raceway Systems.

Mosquito and Zika Virus Control Via In-Pond Floating, Fish Raceways

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By:  Jay Warecki, Ph.D.
Director, Medical Research Education Associates
Director, Superior Aquaculture, LLC

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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have reported that mosquito control measures are now the most effective means of controlling the spread of the Zika virus, West Nile virus, plus dengue, and yellow fever.  Mosquito control and related public health issues will become increasingly significant in the immediate future, and effective counter-measures should become everyone’s priority.

Pond owners may soon view their once-beautiful ponds near their homes as the breeding grounds for disease – especially as our climatic and global weather patterns change.  Environmental health problems of the tropics and sub-tropics are rapidly becoming the problems of the mid-latitudes.

Mosquito control via species and size-specific stocking of fish has long been a main-stay of public health efforts in tropical and sub-tropical regions, including parts of the Southeastern U.S.  Maintaining such stockings in appropriate densities, however, can become a difficult challenge.

Floating In-Pond Raceways™ developed by Superior Aquaculture, LLC offer new and impressive options for owners of all surface waters, e.g. ponds, marshes, reservoirs, or estuaries, who are interested in sustainable, affordable, and non-chemical solutions to mosquito control.

Fish stocked in open ponds tend to favor localized areas such as shorelines, for feeding. But…mosquito larvae tend to cover the entire pond.  This normally results in less than optimal mosquito larvae predation.

In-Pond Floating Raceways accomplish outstanding mosquito control through two mechanisms:

1. Widespread pond circulating that eliminates stagnant water, and
2. Concentrated larvae capture and delivery to high-density, larvae-loving fish.

Major pond circulation is a “free” by-product of the raceway system that uses highly efficient, low-head, airlifts to move pond water through the floating raceways.  Highly energy efficient water movement not only brings fresh, oxygenated pond water, larvae, and other ‘’planktonic candy” to the ever-appreciative, larvae-loving fish in the raceways, but with flow rates as much as 10,000 gallons per minute per raceway, it can have a major impact on improving the pond’s water quality – including the reduction of blue-green algae. The raceway system’s sediment collection pods near the exit ends collect the uneaten fish feed and feces.

Since the above floating raceway system is designed to operate as a cutting-edge, income-producing technology of almost any size, mosquito larvae control and its impact on reducing the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne illness is a no-cost bonus for personal and public health.

Why Invest in Aquaculture?

Well-informed investments in intense, outdoor, surface water aquaculture may be essential for the planet. While surface water covers about 75% of the earth, it now produces only 2% of its food. Commercial fish stocks are in peril and cannot help. Still, it’s projected that the world will need to produce 50% more food by 2050.

A major part of the solution may be found in widespread establishment of what’s called Integrated Multi-tropic Aquaculture (IMTA). Superior Aquaculture is at the cutting-edge of this technology.

Briefly, here’s how it works. Happy, schooling fish are grown fairly intensely and fed in Superior’s floating, in-pond (salt or freshwater) raceways. Most of the uneaten feed and feces are captured and re-cycled. The soluble nutrients contained in the fish urine, which escapes to the water, is absorbed by the algae. The pond’s algae acts like a biological solar collector, absorbing the light energy and CO2 from the air. The algae then converts the CO2 and absorbed nutrients to chemical energy, oxygen, water, and very valuable (essential) nutrients, especially omega-3’s.

If that wasn’t enough, the algae also feeds the much larger zooplankton, which with the algae, can be collected as by-products of the raceway operation. The use of these valuable products is almost unlimited.

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Zooplankton (on left) grown for young fry or fingerlings in adjacent raceway.

Use of the captured zooplankton and algae as on-farm feed supplements is proven to reduce the amount of commercial feed needed, reduce the amount of the fishmeal component sometimes needed, improve feed conversion ratios (FCR’s) to sometimes less than 1:1, strengthen fish autoimmune systems, improve growth rates, and even to provide healthier, omega-3-enriched fish for human consumption.

As commercial fish feeds continuously become more soy and cottonseed-based, their high levels of pro-inflammatory, pro-oxidative omega-6’s, which can lead to fatty liver disease in fish and diabetes in humans, must be countered by increased levels of anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant omega-3’s.

In Summary: IMTA (when practiced wisely) solar energy capture, CO2 reduction, O2 production (about 75% of world’s total), energy, cleaner water, reduced need for wild fish for fish feed; essential nutrient production, capture, and use; healthier, faster-growing fish, plus a healthier, more neurologically appropriate population.

(Extreme due diligence is advised for all aquaculture investments.)

Hands-on Customer Service - Moving Off Shore

Customer Service that keeps on giving.  Dr Jay (in bright green) and Bonnie (naturally with camera) volunteer 4 days of time to assist Native American tribe - three years after raceway purchase.  

“We had a GREAT time fellowshipping and assisting other volunteers in this community-building activity.  This is what we’re really all about”, said Dr. Jay.