Modern aquaculture is an emerging technology, and each year scientists make technical advances in their disciplines which push husbandry and management of aquatic animals to new limits.
The continuous stream of new information requires flexibility in the engineering and operation of all facilities for the culture of aquatic animals to avoid immediate or future obsolescence. The planning and design of these facilities therefore require thoughtful integration of many technical skills in order to obtain the most economic return on capital investment.
This ADCP guideline document describes an INTEGRATED SYSTEMATIC APPROACH to the planning and design of aquaculture facilities. Among the list of typical facilities are fish and shellfish hatcheries, land-based farms, offshore farms and cage complexes, research laboratories, and training centres. Public aquariums, which are often associated with aquaculture facilities, can be included also. The integrated systematic approach simplifies and orders the planning and design process, and makes certain that the end-product is both technically and economically appropriate for the intended purpose.
The document is directed at Upper-level and Mid-level Management, specifically investors and managers of both public and private funds who often have little or no knowledge about aquaculture and the mechanics of designing and operating the special facilities which the aquaculture sector requires. This lack of information and guidance has had serious consequences in the past, and many poor investments have been made due to misplaced objectives, poorly designed buildings, non-functioning systems, construction delays, and cost over-runs. These have detracted from confidence in the industry.
The contents of the document are concerned particularly with the role of engineering and engineering services in the design and development process, as this role is not well-understood by non-professionals. The document is also sufficiently detailed to be useful to aquaculture biologists and technicians, who often try to fulfil this role themselves.
The document contains also Check Lists for assembling criteria about all aspects of the proposed facility, and some typical Terms of Reference for the engineer, architect, biologist and economist who nay be employed in the planning and design of aquaculture facilities.
