Set up a Successful Recirculating Aquaculture System

Recirculating aquaculture systems is one of the boom areas of interest for start-up to investors. It's very well known in the industry that RAS has more failure stories than success.

RAS has more than 40 years of vintage and as industry knows due to overfishing now alternative sustainable, repeatable and scalable aquaculture farming is must at low COST of production.

 In the past RAS has failed due to high CAPEX and OPEX and still today same problem is still exists

As everyone knows major issues in RAS is High capex and opex but no one has cracked the success code

It is not just RAS problem, I can say same problem exists in many other industries as well. 

"Every Problem has a solution, Only If you know what is the Problem" 

To solve the problem one must use " first Principles Thinking" irrespective of the industry

 Below are the few general understanding of RAS (Recirculating Aquaculture System)

Recirculating aquaculture system works by filtering water from the fish tanks and sterilized water can be reused within the tank having introduced complex machines and high skilled people to manage.

Benefits of the recirculating aquaculture system as goes fully environmental controlled system, Intensive production, predictability, traceable and control over disease.  

RAS technology is highly capex (Capital Expenditure) & OPEX (Operational Expenditure) intensive business

I've been reading many articles for a very long time and it's very exciting to read because of the content it covers and the deep insight it has.

Now finally here we go with the most awaited topic 

RAS Bottleneck to be successful at scale in most of the world 

RAS Issues:
 
1) Equipment - High CAPEX & Complicated
2) People - High OPEX & Skilled employee scarcity
3) RAS Set up - Deployment and Hand-Holding
4) Business Strategy - Completely missing

1) Major Equipments:

Drum Filter, Skimmer, UV Channels and Aeration.

Currently there are many RAS farm companies who are procuring their RAS Equipments from RAS Equipment company and RAS Equipment company which is importing or buying from third party like this there are many hands exchange till it reaches to the final RAS farm company and due to which cost of these RAS equipment is skyrocketed.

These RAS Equipment companies are Importing from the developed countries where Infrastructure, Man power and pay everything is too expensive because of which naturally equipment cost of production and selling price becomes high 


Solution based on First principle :

Non-corrosive good quality drum filters are made by SS316 steel, cost of this product is 10X lower in India than the currently importing drum filters in USA

Cost of production is lower in country like India because of low cost Infrastructure, man power and many other parameters

This applies to the all other equipments like closed or open UV Channel, Aeration and foam fractionators

Drum filters and other equipment further cost of production can be reduced if used other sea side working industry techniques.

2) People- Workforce:

Currently RAS companies are hiring high skilled workforce from developed countries to all the functionalities in the RAS, leading which operational expenses are very high.

Solution:

In India RAS companies are employed ITI holders as an electrician (Industrial Training Institute 2 years course post 10th Grade) and other employees paying a local wage

for cleaning, feeding and other work employing local communities and other state people as there is a huge unemployment and people are working with local salaries.

Developed country RAS Solution:

Developed country should hire employees from developing countries   

 
3) RAS Deployment and Business Strategy:

Since RAS has more failure stories than success and investing in the segment is always scary

RAS existing companies are able to achieve very very high yield but with high CAPEX & OPEX

Business Strategy for Lowest CAPEX & OPEX:

RAS company should Make the equipments manufacturing hub in India or other country where cost of production is less. Equipments can be made perfectly with requisite specifications and same can be deployed across the world

Cost of transportation will be less even if done in sizeable number!!!

Build the RAS people skill training hub in low income countries and place these trained people across your clients to avoid the high salaries and to make it scalable.

Client will have the confidence to have RAS trained person at their disposable for hand holding and it will avoid  employee scarcity. 



Inappropriate Probiotics Application:

Shrimp probiotics application instructions have been developed on the basis of many years of deep research on  "EARTHEN POND" and RAS companies has no proper idea of its quantity of application in the RAS set up and same theory goes to mineral application.

RAS low FCR can be achieved:
RAS low FCR can be achieved if synbiotics done fermenting Bacillus cereus with rice bran (plant based Bacillus cereus) and applied to RAS water tanks which stimulates digestion.

In earthen pond "Bacillus cereus bacteria" naturally found in soil which stimulates digestion in the animal.

Current RAS companies CAPEX and OPEX are very very high and it would not be possible to scale without low CAPEX, OPEX and business strategy