Reference Project Profiles: RAS, Ponds, Cages, Aeration and Power
Illustrative profiles, not client case studies. These are anonymised, composite configurations used for planning discussions. They do not describe identifiable farms, clients or suppliers, and no yield, cost saving or performance result is claimed. All figures are indicative planning bands.
Short answer
What does a well-structured fish or shrimp farm project brief actually contain?
Short answer: the brief states the production target, the system type, the water basis, the oxygen demand at peak biomass, the available and backup power, and the scope boundaries — before any manufacturer is contacted.
The five profiles below show that structure applied to a RAS grow-out, intensive shrimp ponds, a marine cage array, a hatchery module and an aeration and power retrofit. In each case the same pattern holds: the biological plan sets the load, the load sets the equipment duty, and the equipment duty is what makes supplier proposals comparable.
- Systems covered:
- RAS, ponds, cages, hatchery, retrofit
- Focus:
- Brief structure, aeration demand, power strategy, procurement scope
- Status:
- Illustrative planning profiles — no client data, no claimed results
RAS
Land-based RAS grow-out, mid-scale
A recirculating grow-out where filtration, oxygenation and monitoring are the cost centre and the feed budget — not the tank volume — drives the sizing of everything downstream.
- Species
- Marine finfish (e.g. seabass / seabream class)
- Typical region
- Mediterranean basin
- Indicative scale
- Indicative 500–1,000 t/yr, phased in two stages
Project baseline
- Design driver
- Daily feed load at peak standing biomass
- Water strategy
- High recirculation, controlled make-up water
- Redundancy
- Stated as a written expectation per critical system
- Phasing
- Phase 1 hydraulics sized for phase 2 flow
Constraints that shape the scope
- TAN and solids load follow the feed budget, so biofilter and drum filter duty cannot be quoted before the feed plan is fixed.
- Make-up water quality and temperature set the heating/chilling duty, often the largest operating line.
- Oxygen delivery method (LOX, on-site generation, or a hybrid) changes both CAPEX and the backup strategy.
Equipment scope requested
- Mechanical filtration and solids handling
- Biological filtration and degassing
- Pumping, pipework and hydraulic interfaces
- Oxygenation and emergency oxygen
- Monitoring, alarms and control system
- Thermal conditioning and water make-up treatment
Aeration and power logic
Oxygen is specified as a delivery requirement at peak biomass with a defined safety margin, not as a device count — then suppliers propose the equipment that meets it.
Standby power sized to cover pumps, oxygen delivery and monitoring together. Sizing around pumps alone is the most common gap seen in draft RAS briefs.
How the procurement was structured
- One written design basis issued identically to every manufacturer.
- Scope split into lots with interfaces assigned in advance.
- Proposals normalised on energy assumptions and exclusions before price.
Takeaway: When the feed budget, recirculation rate and redundancy expectation are written down first, technically dissimilar RAS concepts become comparable proposals.
Ponds
Intensive lined shrimp ponds
A lined intensive pond build where aeration demand at peak biomass, pumping duty and backup power dominate the equipment scope and the energy bill.
- Species
- Whiteleg shrimp (Penaeus vannamei)
- Typical region
- Latin America / Southeast Asia typical configuration
- Indicative scale
- Indicative 20–60 ha equivalent, multi-cycle
Project baseline
- Design driver
- Stocking density and cycle plan
- Water strategy
- Limited exchange with reservoir and treatment
- Biosecurity
- Zoning, intake filtration, effluent route
- Energy
- Aeration kW per hectare is the main operating variable
Constraints that shape the scope
- Density and target harvest weight set the standing biomass, which sets the oxygen demand — reverse that order and the aeration is guessed.
- Salinity and seasonal intake quality determine pumping and intake treatment.
- Effluent obligations vary by jurisdiction and are frequently missing from draft briefs.
Equipment scope requested
- Pond liners, structures and reservoir works
- Intake and transfer pumping
- Aeration equipment and distribution
- Feeding systems and monitoring
- Biosecurity and effluent treatment
- Electrical distribution and backup power
Aeration and power logic
Aeration is scoped as an oxygen transfer requirement at peak biomass under worst-case temperature, then translated into equipment options that can be compared on transfer efficiency and energy, not on unit price.
Aeration is the load that cannot be interrupted. Backup capacity is defined around aeration first, then pumping, then ancillaries.
How the procurement was structured
- Same density, cycle plan and temperature assumptions given to every supplier.
- Energy consumption requested in a common unit for each aeration option.
- Spares, commissioning and training priced separately from hardware.
Takeaway: Two aeration proposals with the same headline price can differ substantially in installed kW; the comparison only becomes meaningful once oxygen demand is stated as a requirement.
Cages
Marine cage farm, exposed to semi-exposed site
A cage array where site exposure, mooring design and certification requirements govern the equipment scope far more than cage price per cubic metre.
- Species
- Marine finfish grow-out
- Typical region
- Atlantic / Mediterranean coastal sites
- Indicative scale
- Indicative multi-cage array with phased stocking
Project baseline
- Design driver
- Site survey: current, wave, depth, seabed
- Standards
- Site-appropriate cage and mooring standards
- Operations
- Feeding, net handling, mortality removal
- Monitoring
- Environmental and biomass sensing
Constraints that shape the scope
- Without a current and wave dataset, mooring and cage specifications cannot be engineered and each supplier assumes a different exposure class.
- Net handling, washing and biofouling strategy are operating costs that are often excluded from the compared price.
- Permitting conditions can dictate spacing, fallowing and monitoring obligations.
Equipment scope requested
- Cages, nets and mooring systems
- Feed barge or shore-based feeding infrastructure
- Net cleaning and handling equipment
- Environmental and biomass monitoring
- Workboats and logistics interfaces
- Power supply for feeding and monitoring
Aeration and power logic
Open-water sites rely on ambient exchange rather than mechanical aeration; oxygen risk is managed through siting, stocking and monitoring rather than equipment.
Power planning centres on the feed barge or shore feed station and on uninterrupted monitoring, including communications to shore.
How the procurement was structured
- Site survey data attached to every enquiry.
- Certification and standard compliance stated as a requirement, not a preference.
- Service, spares and net replacement cycles included in lifetime cost.
Takeaway: On cage projects the differentiator is documented site data. Suppliers that receive it engineer to it; suppliers that do not, price a generic array.
Expansion
Aeration and power retrofit on an operating farm
An existing farm wants more output without new ponds or tanks. The bottleneck is identified before equipment is priced — usually oxygen delivery, electrical distribution or standby capacity.
- Species
- Mixed finfish / shrimp operations
- Typical region
- Applicable across regions
- Indicative scale
- Indicative retrofit within an existing footprint
Project baseline
- Design driver
- The actual measured bottleneck
- Baseline
- Installed equipment, tariff and consumption
- Target
- Capacity increase with phase boundaries
- Risk
- What fails first if the increase is applied today
Constraints that shape the scope
- Extra biomass raises oxygen demand non-linearly at high temperature; the existing aeration margin has to be measured, not assumed.
- Switchgear and cabling installed for the original build often cannot carry the new load.
- Standby generation sized for the original farm rarely covers the expanded aeration duty.
Equipment scope requested
- Aeration or oxygenation upgrade
- Electrical distribution and switchgear
- Standby power capacity and transfer
- Monitoring and alarm coverage
- Control integration with existing systems
Aeration and power logic
The retrofit is defined by the difference between current oxygen delivery and required delivery at the new peak biomass, with the worst-case temperature stated.
Backup strategy is re-derived from the new critical load list. Aeration and oxygen delivery are treated as non-interruptible; ancillaries are allowed to drop.
How the procurement was structured
- Existing single-line diagram and consumption data shared with suppliers.
- Integration with the installed control system stated as scope, not assumed.
- Phase-two headroom written into phase-one hydraulics and switchgear.
Takeaway: Expansion projects fail commercially when phase one has to be replaced to reach phase two. The phase boundary belongs in the RFQ.
Hatchery
Hatchery and nursery module
A hatchery or nursery module where water conditioning, biosecurity and continuity of supply matter more than headline tank capacity.
- Species
- Finfish or shrimp post-larvae
- Typical region
- Applicable across regions
- Indicative scale
- Indicative module feeding a grow-out phase
Project baseline
- Design driver
- Output units per cycle and cycle calendar
- Water
- Conditioning, disinfection and temperature control
- Biosecurity
- Zoning, quarantine and staff flow
- Continuity
- Redundancy on life-support systems
Constraints that shape the scope
- Life-support redundancy is not optional; a short interruption can cost an entire cycle.
- Water conditioning duty depends on source quality across seasons, which requires analysis rather than an average.
- Live feed or feed handling infrastructure is frequently omitted from early scopes.
Equipment scope requested
- Tanks, raceways and life-support skids
- Water conditioning, disinfection and heating
- Oxygen and aeration on critical systems
- Biosecurity infrastructure
- Monitoring, alarms and response routing
Aeration and power logic
Oxygen and aeration on life-support loops are specified with redundancy and with an alarm-to-response window stated in the brief.
Standby power covers life support in full. The response window — who acts, how fast — is documented alongside the equipment.
How the procurement was structured
- Cycle calendar and output units issued with the enquiry.
- Redundancy level per system stated explicitly.
- Commissioning, training and documentation included in scope.
Takeaway: Hatchery briefs that state a redundancy level and a response window receive proposals that are genuinely comparable on risk, not only on tank count.
Read the full procurement workflow
These profiles are the project side of the picture. The flagship article explains the workflow that turns a brief like these into comparable manufacturer proposals — including how AI agents and human buyers can research, structure and route an aquaculture project end to end.
How FishMatch enables AI-assisted aquaculture procurementRelated: why projects need a human advisor, the consultant project toolkit, including its aquaculture RFQ template sections and RAS procurement steps, and what to settle before requesting quotes.