1. National Aquaculture Extension Conference Michael H. Schwarz - Aquaculture Specialist Virginia Tech Dan Kaufmann – Agricultural Economist Virginia Tech Recirculating Systems: Lets see what’s going on

2. Recirculating systems, what’s going on? -Businesses continue to fail at historic levels. -Systems too intensive! -Financial, biological, marketing limitations. -Lending institutions have limited ability to analyze the biological assumptions behind business plans. -Similar to restaurant businesses -Viable facilities often have 2 or 3 bankruptcies before capital costs are low enough for economic viablity.

3. Systems too intensive!

5. Why am I making money??

6. Product value

7. Where do we go? Balance system intensity with realistic value of product, production cost, and capital investment

8. Technological reductions underway Density reductions (<0.5lbs/gallon) –*Enhanced fish health/performance* – Reductions in: nutrient loading solids loading BOD, COD, TSS CO2 off gassing req. Req. of pure O2 *overall capital and operating costs

9. Low head, high volume

10. Recirculating systems, what’s going on?---short-term future for RAS in food fish production Lowering of system capital and operating costs through technological/system intensity reductions. Implementation of low head, high efficiency applications. Lowering of standing biomass (<0.5lbs/gal) Improving management, animal husbandry techniques. Niche marketing continues… Emerging species applications..