A Small-Scale Recirculating Aquaculture System for Global Aquaculture Education and IndustryDevelopment

摘要

While global aquaculture is expanding rapidly, the United States (U.S.) and East Africa (EA) Great Lakes region have experienced slower growth. Aquaculture education is integral to overcoming existing limitations and accelerating production in these regions and worldwide. Toward this goal, an open access educational recirculating aquaculture system (ERAS) was designed to meet the differential objectives of aquaculture education in the U.S. and EA and trialed within educational institutions. Key ERASdesign considerations were cost, operation, size, component availability, and construction. A secondary aspect of ERAS design was flexibility and application to different learning objectives. Over the trial period, two potential educational uses emerged:(1) to build student awareness of aquaculture and its importance in the food system, and (2) to teach practical aquaculture skills necessary for aquaculture careers. Construction and assembly guides for the educational ERAS will be offered open source through the University of Massachusetts Amherst aquaculture extension website.