How to Order an Aquaculture Project: A Step-by-Step RFQ Guide
Updated 2026-09-30 13 min read
Short answer
What do you need to prepare an aquaculture RFQ?
Short answer: an aquaculture RFQ needs twelve things — species, production target, country and site, water source, system type, stocking density, number and size of tanks, ponds or cages, feed type and FCR, aeration and oxygen approach, pump flow and head, monitoring scope, and timeline plus budget band.
Collect those fields in order and convert the production target into duty figures using calculators for stocking density, biomass, feed conversion, oxygen demand, water flow and ROI. With those numbers attached, suppliers can engineer a proposal instead of returning a price list, and the buyer can compare offers on one scope. FishMatch structures and routes the brief; it does not manufacture equipment and does not provide credit, loans or financial advice.
- Fields required:
- 12 core sections, one to three pages
- Run first:
- Stocking density, then biomass
- Ask suppliers for:
- BOM, power draw, duty curves, spares, references
- Cost to buyers:
- Free
Best for
- First-time shrimp or fish farm developers writing their first RFQ
- Operators expanding an existing pond, cage or RAS site
- Hatchery projects specifying incubation and larval systems
- Consultants and EPCs standardising client RFQs
- Government and NGO programmes issuing aquaculture tenders
- Investors testing whether a project brief is complete enough to price
Buyer information checklist
Work through these twelve blocks in order. Each one narrows the next, which is why filling them out of sequence usually forces a resize later.
1. Species and market
- Species (vannamei, monodon, tilapia, salmon, sea bass, sea bream, catfish, trout, carp)
- Product form: live, whole, gutted, fillet, HOSO, HLSO
- Target market: domestic, regional, export
- Certification requirements driven by that market
2. Production target
- Tonnes per year at full capacity
- Phasing: phase 1 vs final build-out
- Harvest weight and number of cycles per year
- Survival assumption used in the plan
3. Country and site
- Country and nearest port
- Ambient temperature range and seasonality
- Site area, elevation and available power
- Permitting status and discharge rules
4. Water
- Source: borehole, river, sea, reservoir, municipal
- Salinity, temperature range, hardness, iron
- Available flow and any abstraction limit
- Discharge route and treatment obligations
5. System type
- RAS, flow-through, ponds, lined ponds, biofloc, raceways, sea cages, hatchery
- Indoor or outdoor, covered or open
- Daily water reuse or exchange target
- Redundancy and backup expectations
6. Units and density
- Number and size of tanks, ponds or cages
- Peak stocking density (kg/m3 or PL/m2)
- Nursery stage: separate or integrated
- Grading and transfer plan
7. Feed
- Feed type and pellet sizes
- Target FCR and daily feed load at peak
- Feeding method: manual, automatic feeders, feed barge, acoustic
- Feed storage and silo capacity
8. Aeration and oxygen
- Oxygen demand at peak feed load and temperature
- Paddlewheels, diffused aeration, blowers, oxygen cones or LHO
- Liquid oxygen or on-site generation
- Emergency oxygen and alarm strategy
9. Pumps and water handling
- Required flow rate and total head
- Pipework sizing and materials
- Mechanical filtration: drum filters, screens
- Biological filtration, UV, ozone, degassing
10. Monitoring and control
- Parameters: DO, temperature, pH, TAN, nitrite, salinity, ORP
- Logging, alarms and remote access
- PLC/SCADA scope and integration
- Calibration and spare probe policy
11. Commercial
- Incoterms and delivery port
- Installation, commissioning and training scope
- Warranty, spares and service response
- Documentation language and standards
12. Timeline and budget
- Target order date and required delivery window
- Project stage: concept, feasibility, funded, in construction
- Budget band (a range is enough)
- Decision process and who signs
Step by step: from idea to signed order
- Decide the basics. Species first, then capacity, then country and water — those three decide almost everything downstream.
- Size the project. Run the calculators below and carry the numbers into the brief instead of guessing densities or oxygen figures.
- Check the brief is complete. Incoterms, project stage and a budget band are the three fields most often missing, and the three that cause the widest spread in supplier responses.
- Request and compare proposals. Send the same RFQ to three to five capable suppliers and compare them on scope, power draw and guarantees before price.
- Close the contract. Agree payment milestones tied to delivery and commissioning, written performance figures, spare parts and training before signing.
The third is scope splitting. A 500 t/yr shrimp project is not one purchase; it is aeration, pumps, nursery, feeders, monitoring, backup power and harvest handling. Naming the packages up front lets suppliers bid on what they are genuinely strong in.
Calculator use cases
Stocking density
Check the planned density against species and system tolerance before sizing anything else. Output feeds tank/pond count.
Biomass
Standing biomass at peak is the number that drives oxygen, filtration and feeding capacity. Every supplier asks for it.
Feed conversion
Converts production target into daily and annual feed load — the basis for feeder, silo and biofilter sizing.
Oxygen / aeration
Oxygen demand from feed load and temperature, so aeration is specified by duty rather than by copying another farm.
Water flow and pumps
Flow and head for the reuse or exchange rate you chose, which sets pump and pipework duty.
ROI
Indicative CAPEX, OPEX and payback framing so the RFQ carries a realistic budget band.
Calculator outputs are indicative planning figures based on the inputs you supply. Suppliers confirm final sizing in their own proposals — see the calculator methodology.
Example RFQ
RFQ: 500 t/yr Pacific white shrimp — intensive lined ponds, Vietnam Buyer: farm developer (contact via FishMatch sourcing desk) Species: Litopenaeus vannamei, HOSO + HLSO, export Target: 500 t/yr, phase 1 = 250 t/yr Site: Mekong Delta; brackish 12-22 ppt; 26-32 C Water: Intake canal + reservoir; RO-free; discharge to treatment pond System: 40 lined ponds x 2,500 m2, nursery raceways for PL10-PL25 Density: 150-200 PL/m2 grow-out, harvest 20-25 g Feed: Extruded 0.5-2.5 mm, target FCR 1.4, peak feed load ~4.5 t/day Scope requested: 1. Aeration: paddlewheel + blower/diffuser mix sized to peak feed load 2. Pumps: intake, transfer and reservoir circulation with duty curves 3. Nursery raceways with heating and biofloc control 4. Automatic feeders with feeding-response control 5. Water quality monitoring: DO, temp, pH, salinity, ORP with alarms 6. Generator backup and emergency aeration 7. Harvest handling, ice and chilling interface Certifications: ASC-ready design, CE or equivalent Delivery: CIF Ho Chi Minh City Timeline: Order within 60 days; site-ready in 5 months Budget band: mid-range, confirmed after technical comparison Required from supplier: BOM, power draw per item, duty curves, spare parts list, commissioning scope, reference installations
Illustrative structure only; all figures are placeholders to be replaced with the buyer's own project data.
Comparison: weak RFQ field vs strong RFQ field
| Field | Weak version | Strong version |
|---|---|---|
| Species | "Fish" | Tilapia (O. niloticus), whole gutted, domestic + regional export |
| Capacity | "Commercial scale" | 1,200 t/yr, phase 1 600 t/yr |
| System | "Modern system" | Indoor RAS, 95% daily reuse, 12 tanks x 300 m3 |
| Water | "Good water" | Borehole, 28-30 C, <1 ppt, 40 m3/h available |
| Aeration | "Aerators needed" | Oxygen demand at peak feed load 3.2 t/day, 30 C, DO target 6 mg/L |
| Pumps | "Pumps" | Flow and head duty stated; supplier confirms curve |
| Monitoring | "Sensors" | DO, temp, pH, TAN with alarms and remote logging |
| Timeline | "ASAP" | Order Q1, commissioning within 9 months |
| Budget | "Best price" | Budget band stated; comparison on scope, not headline price |
| Result | Price lists on different scopes | Engineered proposals that can be compared line by line |
FAQ
Submit your RFQ
Run the calculators, fill the twelve blocks and send the brief once. Free for buyers, supplier-neutral, and supplier identities stay confidential until you decide to engage.