A Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) is a land-based fish or shrimp production plant that reuses more than 95% of its water by cycling it through mechanical filtration, biofiltration, gas exchange and disinfection. RAS gives operators control over temperature, water quality and biosecurity — at the cost of higher CAPEX and specific energy consumption than pond or cage systems.
RAS wins where land is scarce, water is limited or expensive, biosecurity is critical, or the market pays a premium for local production. RAS loses on pure cost-per-kg against warm-water pond production in low-cost-energy geographies. Use our Production System Advisor to run the trade-off for your species, country and CAPEX envelope.
Every commercial RAS integrates the same functional stack. The vendor differences show up in media choice, control strategy and how tightly the sub-systems are integrated.
As a first-order estimate: $10,000–$18,000 per annual ton for land-based salmon post-smolt; $8,000–$14,000/t for warm-water tilapia; $12,000–$20,000/t for shrimp RAS. Country, species and vendor mix swing these ±30%. Use the RAS Sizing and Commercial CAPEX calculators for a scoped number tied to your production target.
Availability ≥ 98.5%, specific energy in kWh/kg produced (with penalty), guaranteed DO / TAN / CO₂ envelopes, make-up water in L/kg, biofilter time-to-maturation, mortality guarantee across acclimation. Every KPI belongs in the RFQ with a penalty clause tied to it.
1) Signing a fixed-price contract with an incomplete mass balance. 2) Under-sizing standby power and oxygen backup — a 4-hour outage can wipe a full biomass. 3) Failing to require a documented commissioning and biological ramp-up plan with the vendor on-site for at least 90 days.
One RFQ. Multiple project-matched suppliers. Zero cost to buyers.