Fish Hatchery Management, 3rd edition

Chapter 1: Hatchery System and Design Considerations

Jeff Milton, Charles Pratt, Jeff Heindel, Noah Hornsby, Joy Terry, Evan Jones, and Derek Nelson

doi: https://doi.org/10.47886/9781934874813.ch1

Aquaculturists today are presented with a wide range of hatchery and aquaculture system design considerations that are often tailored to a specific family, genus, or even species of cultured aquatic organisms. Some fish or groups of fishes require rearing conditions that are unique to their biology or perform better in one type of rearing system or another. These types of species-specific requirements are addressed in the chapters of this book focused on different species and groups of fish. This chapter will first provide a high-level overview of aquaculture systems by discussing different rearing systems loosely grouped into three classifications: extensive, semi-intensive, and intensive. The discussion of different types of rearing systems provides information about their strengths, weaknesses, and applicability to specific hatchery production goals.

General knowledge of the available rearing system options is necessary to understand which rearing system should be considered when designing a hatchery for a particular purpose. The latter part of this chapter presents typical design topics that should be considered when planning a hatchery facility design or redesign. The sequential phases of design are discussed, from early planning stages to final commissioning and start-up, as well as the questions that culturists should ask themselves at each step of the process.

Note that throughout this chapter, the term “hatchery” is used to refer to the specific place or location of aquaculture for one or more life history phases of an aquatic organism, primarily fish. “Hatchery” may refer to facilities where fish eggs are incubated and hatched or facilities involved in other phases of culture (e.g., brood stations or grow-out facilities) that are not necessarily involved in early rearing.