Cage Farm Capacity Planning: From Tonnes to Cages
A cage farm budget begins with one calculation: how many cages of what volume are needed to hold the standing biomass your production target implies. Everything else — feed barge, boats, nets, moorings, licences — follows from that. Start with the cage farming capacity calculator.
Volume and density set the cage count
Circular HDPE cages are described by diameter and net depth; density at harvest is what actually limits them. Tilapia lake cages commonly run 15–30 kg/m³, marine finfish 10–25 kg/m³, and licence conditions or current speed often cap the number below the biological limit. Cross-check standing biomass with the biomass calculator and the stocking density calculator.
Cycle length decides annual output
Two cycles a year from the same cages doubles output without another mooring. Water temperature, harvest weight and juvenile availability decide whether that is realistic — model it with the fish growth calculator.
Feed load drives logistics, not just cost
Peak daily feed determines barge capacity, storage, boat trips and workboat scheduling. Size the annual volume with the feed budget calculator and the feed consumption calculator.
What the cage price does not include
Cage, net and mooring quotes exclude site survey, mooring engineering, predator nets, feed barge, boats, licences and shore base. That gap is where cage projects overrun. Check the whole envelope in the CAPEX estimator and the aquaculture CAPEX guide; the system trade-offs are compared in RAS vs pond vs cage.
Quote one scope, not three
Send cage count, volume, depth, exposure class, species, density and site conditions in a single brief — see the aquaculture RFQ guide — then compare offers with the supplier comparison framework. Regional context: tilapia cage farming in Ghana, Brazil and marine cage farming in Oman.
FishMatch Group is an independent aquaculture project sourcing and RFQ platform. We are not a fish farm, feed producer, equipment manufacturer, EPC contractor, lender, broker-dealer, investment advisor or financial advisor. Supplier and project partner outreach happens only after a commercial project brief is reviewed. Start with a human-reviewed RFQ.
Guides, calculators and country pages for this topic
Use the guides for the decision framework, the calculators for indicative numbers, and the country pages for local scope and cost context. FishMatch reviews every request by hand before any supplier is approached — directory and country pages are for research, not automatic matching.
Guides
Calculators
Aquaculture planning benchmarks
| Figure | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| CAPEX — RAS | USD 9,000–14,000 per tonne/yr | Global baseline before country cost factor. |
| CAPEX — Ponds | USD 1,800–4,000 per tonne/yr | Lined or earthen ponds, excluding land. |
| CAPEX — Cages | USD 2,500–5,500 per tonne/yr | Cages, moorings, nets and service equipment. |
| CAPEX — Flow-through | USD 4,000–7,000 per tonne/yr | Raceways and water intake works. |
| Energy use | RAS ~6 kWh/kg; ponds ~1.2; flow-through ~1.5; cages ~0.3 | Per kg of fish produced. |
| Typical FCR | Trout 1.1; salmon 1.2; shrimp 1.4; tilapia 1.6; carp 1.8 | kg feed per kg growth; varies with feed and management. |
| Farm size where FishMatch reviews projects | From ~USD 250,000 total project value | Commercial fish and shrimp projects. |
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Where this fits in a real project
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