About SESEY    |    Applications    |    Welcome Page    |    Projects    |    Contact us

Past, Present and Future of Aquaculture...

By:
Jake Fitzpatrick and Emily O'Malley

Mentor:
Dr. Shree

The problem statement for this project was to design an Aquaculture system capable of supporting 10,000 kg of Catfish a year. We also had to determine the pond dimensions, feed requirements, and gross and net income from the farm. Consider two different feeding regimens, and decide which is more economical.

The experimental method was to set our guesses at the pond dimensions, feeding requirements, and income:

Set in the given assumptions:

• Maximum density of 0.8 fish/m squared.
• Fish growth limited after they reach 1500 g/fish.
• Artificial feed is the sole food source.

Weather parameters:

• Clear skies.
• Wind velocity may reach 2.0 m/s.
• Relative humidity is 50%
• Budget parameters:
• Wholesale market price of catfish is $0.75/lb.
• Fingerlings cost $0.09 each.
• Low quality feed costs $200/ton.
• High quality feed costs $250/ton.

Run simulations of the scenario, each time altering the parameters that may be altered to bring us closer to our goal.