09/02/2024
Why RAS? Advantages and Disadvantages of Land-Based Aquaculture - 1/3
RAS refers to Recirculating Aquaculture System and describes a series of techniques for fish farming in which we can manage Fish welfare, Sustainability, Biosecurity and Recycling of fish farming waste products.
The core of RAS can be found in the first word of the acronym, recirculation. This means that the water is not discharged as you would do on a “flow through” farm, where water is used once. In RAS, water is constantly cleaned, detoxified and disinfected and sent back to the fish tanks as if it was new. But prepared and controlled for the fish to like.
RAS is commonly performed in farms located in land, in pools called tanks prepared for the species of fish to be farmed. As the farms are in land, water is brought in to the farm at a cost and becomes, as mentioned before, a key asset of the farm. The water will be cleaned, disinfected and re-used as much as possible, up to achieving in some cases farms with 0% water spillage.
In short, RAS allows aquaculture farmers and producers to maintain the water under optimal conditions for the animals and, if done right, with minimal impact for the environment and the wild stock.
This process of recycling of water opens the door to gather all the faeces and uneaten feed from the farming operation and treated in secondary plants (biogas production, fetilizers…) to prevent any of this excess to reach the environment.
This are some of the reasons why RAS is the farming technique for the future, not only for the aquaculture industry but also to maintain and improve the conditions of our seas.
Stay tuned for more, and more in detail information about RAS, the goods and the bads and the best options for our future.
