Project Scale:
An 80 m3 pilot Recirculating Aquaculture Facility (RAS) for production of Altantic Salmon fry.

Where:
Copihue, Chile, South America

When:
The pilot recirculation and effluent treatment system began operation in March 2003.

Project Description:
Working with Marine Harvest Chile, Hatfield Consultants, and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), PR Aqua was part of a team that was selected to developed a freshwater recirculation system at Rio Copihue Hatchery, an existing, productive, flow-through hatchery in Chile. This pilot system and the associated study were intended to determine a feasible method to modify Chilean aquaculture production facilities using Canadian recirculation systems and technologies to reduce water use and effluent volumes, better protect the receiving environment, and control disease.

Services Provided:
PR Aqua was instrumental in the initiation of the project and in the efforts to find funding for the project through CIDA. PR Aqua also provided facility design, equipment supply, and construction support services. At design completion, PR Aqua prepared operating manuals and provided comprehensive training and operational support to operations staff.

Project Features:
The pilot system was built to incorporate four existing circular fiberglass tanks with a total culture volume of 80 m3. The tank system was retrofit with a water treatment system that allowed for recirculation of up to 95% of the total flow. The process utilized was intended to optimize operational flexibility while maintaining optimal water quality for the culture of the fish. The process was designed to incorporate proven technology, to be easy to operate, and to be economically feasible.

The treatment systems incorporate many of the same elements as other PR Aqua designed facilities. The design incorporates Cornell-style dual drain tank designs, swirl separators and micro-screen drum filters for solids filtration, fluidized sand bed biofilters for ammonia removal, carbon dioxide stripping, pure oxygen addition, and both ozonation and UV disinfection technologies. All make-up water entering the system is treated for IPN using UV disinfection units.

Challenges and Solutions:
The most challenging aspect of this project was coordination of the design internationally with both the client and the other consultants on the project. PR Aqua overcame this challenge through continuous communication with our local Chilean representative, bi-weekly updates to the client on project status and design coordination issues, and site visits to Chile at critical milestones during the design, construction, and commissioning phases of the project.

Results:
The success of the pilot facility has supported the use of recirculation technology for Chilean hatchery operations and has propagated multiple other hatchery conversion and construction projects in Chile. In 2004, PR Aqua provided additional design assistance in upgrading and expanding the pilot facility.