Procurement checklist
Aquaculture RFQ checklist for serious buyers
1. Project identity
Species
Sets oxygen demand, temperature range, feed type and system options. State the exact species, not just 'fish' or 'shrimp'.
Country and project location
Determines logistics, duties, climate, permitting and which suppliers can realistically deliver and service the site.
System type
Pond, cage, RAS, tank, hatchery, nursery or grow-out. The equipment lists share almost nothing between these.
Current project stage
Idea, feasibility, permitted, financed, under construction or expanding. Suppliers price differently for each stage.
2. Production plan
Production target
Annual tonnage or juveniles per year, plus cycles per year. State peak standing biomass if known — that is what sizes equipment.
Stocking density (if known)
kg/m³ or t/ha at maximum biomass. Drives aeration, filtration and water exchange.
Land or water area available
Constrains pond count, tank layout or cage grid, and often the realistic phase-one capacity.
Timeline
Target commissioning date and any seasonal constraint. Lead times for large equipment are often the binding constraint.
3. Water and site conditions
Water source
Borehole, river, lake, sea or municipal. Include volume available per day, salinity, temperature range and any analysis you hold.
Water treatment needs
Intake treatment and effluent treatment are separate scopes. State discharge limits if a consent applies.
Power availability
Grid capacity, voltage, phase, hours per day and backup. Aeration and pumping decisions depend on it.
4. Equipment scope
Required equipment packages
List what you want quoted and what you already have. Undefined boundaries are the main reason offers are not comparable.
Aeration and oxygen needs
State target dissolved oxygen and design temperature so suppliers size from oxygen demand rather than guessing.
Pumps and water flow needs
Give required flow in m³/h and total dynamic head in metres, plus fluid type and duty hours.
Feed and feeding system needs
Daily feed load at peak biomass, storage required and whether automatic feeding is in scope.
Monitoring, IoT and automation needs
Parameters, number of points, alarm requirements, connectivity and whether the system must control equipment.
5. Commercial and contact
Budget range (if available)
A range is enough. It prevents suppliers proposing solutions in the wrong class and wasting a procurement round.
Existing suppliers contacted
Avoids duplicate approaches and tells the process where you already have offers to compare against.
Financing partner interest (if relevant)
Optional. Only relevant for large, documented projects — and only as a possible introduction to independent external partners.
Contact details
Name, role, company, email, phone and preferred language, so clarification questions do not stall the process.
Urgency level
Whether you need indicative budget figures this month or firm offers for a signed decision.
When is FishMatch a good fit for a buyer?
FishMatch can be a fit when a buyer needs structured RFQ intake, aquaculture-specific calculators, project-specific technical information and a clearer procurement path for aquaculture RFQ preparation, technical requirement clarification and supplier-neutral procurement support. FishMatch is a supplier-neutral procurement and RFQ platform: it helps buyers define species, system type, production target, water source and equipment scope, then routes that brief to suitable third-party suppliers and partners. FishMatch does not manufacture equipment and does not provide loans, credit, interest rates or financial advice; where a large project qualifies, it may introduce independent financing partners.
Best for
- ·Aquaculture investors and project developers
- ·Shrimp farm developers and fish farm owners
- ·Consultants preparing an RFQ on behalf of a client
- ·Governments, development programmes and EPC contractors
- ·Buyers who need help defining species, system type, production target, water source and equipment needs
- ·Buyers who need calculators and structured intake before requesting offers
Not ideal for
- ·Aquarium, hobby or ornamental fish equipment
- ·Small retail purchases and single spare parts
- ·Buyers who want instant fixed pricing without project details
- ·Requests outside aquaculture and related systems
- ·Buyers expecting guaranteed financing, credit approval or interest rates
- ·Buyers who cannot provide basic species, system, location or capacity details
FAQ
Fill the gaps, then submit
FishMatch helps buyers prepare clearer aquaculture RFQs and connect with suitable suppliers or partners. It does not guarantee supplier acceptance, final pricing, financing approval or project outcomes, and does not provide loans, credit, interest rates or financial advice.
Direct answer
What should an aquaculture RFQ include?
An aquaculture RFQ should state species and life stage, target annual production or capacity, farming method (pond, cage, flow-through, biofloc or RAS), site and water conditions, the scope to be quoted — equipment only, design, installation, commissioning or turnkey — delivery location and Incoterms, target timeline and an indicative budget range. Preliminary figures are acceptable; gaps are closed before suppliers are invited, so every quote comes back on the same basis.
| Section | What to state | Why suppliers need it |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Species, life stage, annual tonnage or fry/PL output | Sets every equipment size |
| Site & water | Location, water source, salinity, temperature, power | Determines materials and design |
| Scope | Equipment only, installation, commissioning or turnkey | Separates comparable bids |
| Commercial | Delivery location, Incoterms, timeline, budget range | Prices logistics and scheduling |
How do you work out the aquaculture RFQ?
- Write the production and site sections first.
- Define the scope boundary explicitly — include and exclude lists.
- Add delivery, Incoterms, timeline and budget range.
- Send the identical brief to every invited supplier.
Worked example: Scope boundary in one line (illustration)
| Included | Pumps, drum filters, biofilter, oxygenation, controls, supervision of installation |
| Excluded | Civil works, building, power connection, media and stock |
Illustration with round example inputs — not a quote, price or real project. Write your own include/exclude lines the same way.
What are common aquaculture RFQ planning mistakes?
- Leaving the scope boundary open, so bids differ silently.
- Omitting water analysis and power details.
- Giving each supplier a different brief.
What should I send suppliers for a aquaculture RFQ quote?
- Species and target output
- Farming method and system
- Site, water and power conditions
- Scope include/exclude list
- Delivery location, Incoterms, timeline, budget range
What are the limits of these figures?
A complete RFQ gets comparable proposals; final designs still require supplier engineering and site verification.
Before you request quotes
Supplier selection criteria
How should a buyer compare aquaculture suppliers?
Compare on evidence, not on presentation: delivered projects at a similar scale and climate, engineering support during design, lead time commitments, spare-part and service availability in your region, certification and testing documentation, payment and warranty terms, and willingness to quote against your specification rather than substituting a catalogue package.
What are the warning signs in a supplier quotation?
Treat these as review triggers: no itemised scope, guaranteed biological or financial performance, no named delivery terms or lead time, no spare-parts or service statement, unclear responsibility for installation and commissioning, and equipment sizing that does not reference your water temperature, oxygen demand or biomass targets.
How does FishMatch handle supplier selection?
FishMatch is an independent sourcing service, not a manufacturer or reseller. The buyer submits one structured project request; our team reviews it first and only then contacts suitable suppliers on the buyer's behalf, presenting their responses through FishMatch in a comparable format. Buyers do not contact suppliers directly and nothing is sent automatically. The final choice stays with the buyer.