Aquaculture Project Bankability & RAS Feasibility Checklist
Twelve evidence blocks for preliminary aquaculture project planning. Record what is known, label assumptions and obtain independent engineering and financing review; this checklist is not an approval or funding offer.
1. Species & production model
- Target species confirmed (shrimp, tilapia, salmon, sea bass, trout, other)
- Life-stage scope defined: hatchery, nursery, grow-out, integrated
- Production system: RAS, biofloc, pond, sea-cage or hybrid
- Justification for species/system fit with market and site
2. Production volume & phasing
- Annual production target (tonnes live weight) documented
- Ramp-up curve: expected volume in year 1, 2, 3 and steady state
- Number of cycles per year and stocking plan
- Project-specific biological ramp-up and uncertainty documented; no universal duration assumed
3. Water source & analysis
- Water source identified: groundwater, surface water, sea, reconstituted saline
- Full water analysis available (major ions, metals, alkalinity, hardness, contaminants)
- Water availability confirmed year-round with legal abstraction rights
- Makeup water requirement modeled at design point
- Discharge strategy defined and permittable
4. Site & climate
- Land secured or under option — with legal title clarity
- Zoning and land use compatible with aquaculture
- Access roads, port/airport distance, telecoms available
- Climate risks assessed: flooding, heat, cold, hurricanes, seismic
- Geotechnical study or planned before construction
5. Energy — cost & stability
- Grid connection capacity checked against a supplier load list and the site-specific duty case
- Electricity tariff modeled over 10 years with escalation scenarios
- Grid reliability documented (outage frequency, voltage stability)
- Standby generation and fuel supply planned
- Renewable / heat-recovery options evaluated
6. Feed availability
- At least two qualified feed suppliers identified
- Feed logistics and lead times acceptable
- FCR target and feed cost modeled (base / pessimistic / optimistic)
- Feed quality specifications aligned with species and life stage
7. Juvenile / PL supply
- Two or more qualified hatcheries / PL suppliers identified
- SPF pathogen-testing scope or SPR selected-resistance claim independently checked for the species, source and named pathogen; neither means disease-free operation
- Transport protocol and mortality expectation documented
- Backup supply strategy in case of primary source failure
8. Market & offtake
- Target market segments defined (fresh, frozen, HORECA, retail, export)
- Price realization modeled with realistic size grades
- LOI or contract with at least one offtaker
- Logistics and cold-chain path to market mapped
9. Regulatory approval
- Environmental impact assessment status clear
- Water abstraction and discharge permits achievable in timeline
- Biosecurity and veterinary approvals identified
- Construction, building and operating permits scoped
- Import/export licenses if applicable
10. Operator experience
- Named operating team lead with relevant experience
- Technical manager identified for the specific system type
- Training plan agreed with technology provider
- Independent technical advisor (owner's engineer) engaged
11. CAPEX expectations
- Estimate class, design maturity, exclusions and accuracy basis documented by the estimator; class labels alone do not establish accuracy
- Detailed scoped estimate independently reviewed before financial close; an RFQ response is not automatically a Class-3 estimate
- Contingency derived from the project risk register, scope maturity and priced exclusions; no universal percentage assumed
- Owner's cost (permits, engineering, PM, IDC) included
12. Financing need & readiness
- Equity commitment documented and available
- Debt structure identified (senior loan, ECA, mezzanine, leasing)
- Ten-year cash-flow planning scenario with entered CAPEX, OPEX, working capital, ramp-up, price, debt and tax assumptions; not a forecast or promise
- DSCR basis agreed with an independent provider; model cash available for debt service divided by debt service due, with no assumed approval threshold
- Independent legal and financing review planned; no funding decision or provider access promised
How this checklist is used
Complete the evidence you have and mark remaining gaps. FishMatch can help structure a confidential infrastructure RFQ for human review; no offer count, estimate class, funding or outcome is guaranteed. Buyer access is free. Supplier identities and documents remain confidential.
CAPEX composition: evidence before percentages
Scope map only, not a cost estimate. Record region, capacity, specification, quote date, currency and exclusions for each line. Never derive universal shrimp prices from this checklist.
| Cost scope | Required evidence / note |
|---|---|
| Site, civil works and utilities | Site survey, geotechnical scope and dated local contractor quote |
| Process, water and biosecurity equipment | Duty schedule, supplier quotation, redundancy and acceptance scope |
| Installation, freight and commissioning | Destination, Incoterm, installation responsibilities and dated quotes |
| Engineering, owner costs and contingency | Scope maturity, risk register, permits and explicit exclusions |
Source basis: this is a buyer evidence checklist, not a market cost dataset. Annual OPEX must separately identify feed, juveniles, labour, energy, treatment, maintenance and logistics using project-entered or dated quoted figures.
The legacy source PDFs contain unsourced numeric assumptions. They have not been adopted as verified public benchmarks. Independent engineering, veterinary and financing review remains necessary.
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Short answer
What do buyers need to know about Aquaculture Bankability Checklist?
Aquaculture Bankability Checklist affects both project cost and project risk, so it belongs in the specification stage rather than the purchasing stage. This page sets out what commercial buyers assess, what typically drives cost and lead time, and which questions to put to suppliers before signing. You can turn any of it into a confidential RFQ in a few minutes.
- Who it is for:
- Investors, operators and project developers specifying commercial systems
- Cost drivers:
- Capacity, water source, energy price, permitting and logistics
- Next step:
- Turn the requirement into a confidential RFQ
- Cost to buyers:
- No fee charged to the buyer