Construction and Testing of First Generation Modular System with Environmental Controls for LIVE Transport of Sablefish

Final Report
Sable Fish Canada Inc
AIMAP 2012-P08

1. Executive Summary

Sablefish aquaculture is a new industry in Canada and sablefish is an AIMAP priority species. There are two Canadian sablefish hatcheries, of which Sable Fish Canada has the highest production, and an American hatchery, Trout Lodge in Washington State. All of Sable Fish Canada's hatchery production of juveniles is transported to their farm sites in Kyuquot Sound for growout.

Sablefish transportation has in the past has used methods and technology developed for Atlantic salmon, however the biological and environmental requirements of sablefish are much different resulting in mortalities and poor quality fish post transport. It was identified that to improve the success of transport, control over key environmental parameters or equipment was essential.

Using systems developed for salmon, juvenile sablefish transport mortalities averaged 10% in 2010 and were sometimes much higher. The live market transport mortalities can be up to 100%. Transports of 10-20g juveniles from the hatchery to the farm sites are the fish harvested three years later therefore transport mortality is a substantial issue. The company was also looking to access additional live fish market locally and in Asia to provide additional revenue and a transport system was required that would provide the exact environmental conditions to keep larger fish alive and healthy. A combination of AIMAP funding and private company funds were used to construct a modular environmentally controlled transport system specifically for sablefish. This transport system is innovative and will support the continued development of the industry for this high value new species.

The new modular transport system will accommodate the increase in Sable Fish Canada hatchery production and ensure survival of juvenile fish for grow out leading to increased harvest. In addition, Sable Fish Canada has successfully accessed a new live fish market in BC and is looking to expand this market and develop markets globally.

2. Project Description

Introduction

There are three potential sources of sablefish juveniles for the BC sablefish industry – Sable Fish Canada hatchery, KDS Hatchery, and Trout Lodge in Washington State. Sable Fish Canada's hatchery production is ramping up with the approval of the second farm site in Kyuquot Sound and is fully used by the company. However, KDS and Trout Lodge annual production is available to BC farms.

Sable Fish Canada transports all hatchery production of juvenile fish (10-20g) to farm sites in Kyuquot Sound – a trip of over 12 hours. These fish represent the production for each year and as such it is essential that they arrive at the farm alive and in good shape in order to transition quickly to the open net culture system and continue growing. The previous transport system consisted of 8-1 m3 standard salmon smolt containers that accommodate 20kg/m3 density and are supplied with re-circulated sea water. During transport, the truck stopped hourly for technicians to manually adjust water quality (O2 and pH/CO2). Between hourly stops the water quality in the tanks often deteriorated dramatically creating mortalities.

In recent years there has been a significant increase in the sale of live sablefish in both the Vancouver area and in Asia. Sable Fish Canada is well situated to provide product and develop this market, however previous attempts at transporting 1.5kg fish incurred losses and deliveries were not continued. Transport of sablefish has largely been accomplished using the well established Atlantic salmon methods and technologies. However, the biological and environmental requirements of sablefish are much different than those of Atlantic salmon and mortalities and adverse effects on the fish during transportation were common. This project has developed a transport system specifically for sablefish with the purpose of eliminating mortalities and ensuring the fish are in prime condition at the end of the transport.

The modular transport system specifically for sablefish has supported the sustainability of the company and the industry in the following ways:

• Reducing mortality of 1.5-2kg fish provides the opportunity to access live sablefish markets domestically and allow for future markets in Asia to be pursued. The live market is largely an untapped opportunity for sablefish.
• Harvesting the smaller or slower growing fish for the live fish market means not having to spend the additional money to grow them to size for the dressed fish market size creates a shorter production cycle and more fish produced per farm as well as a mid-production cash flow.
• Reducing the mortality rates during transport of 10-20g juveniles provides the opportunity for sablefish juveniles from various hatcheries to be available to the BC industry supporting development and sustainability of the industry.
• Increasing density of fish during transport provides the opportunity for more fish to be transported at the same cost, reducing the cost of production and increasing the profit at harvest.
• The new modular transport system is a greener technology reducing the carbon footprint when an increased number of juveniles transported in one trip for the same cost of fuel, oil etc. Also specific environmentally friendly equipment has been installed such as air cooled condensers with variable speed fans to maintain refrigerant head pressure and reduce energy consumption, a cooling system using non-toxic, non-flammable, non-ozone depleting substances, and inclusion of optional shore power as an alternative to diesel when connection is possible.

Modular Transport Technology for Sablefish

Sablefish have unique biological characteristics that need to be addressed during transport in order to avoid mortalities.

• Sablefish metabolic rate is 2x salmon giving off an elevated level of CO2 into the surrounding water
• During times of stress, sablefish exude large amounts of mucous (protein) which breaks down into toxic ammonia
• Sablefish do not have a swim bladder and do not disperse in the water column settling on the floor of the tank

Physical considerations for transporting sablefish include the following.

• Excessive vibration caused by gravel roads
• Water temperature must be within a 2ºC range for the duration of the transport
• Juveniles are to unloaded in the transport water from a middle bottom drain
• Larger fish are to be crowded and netted to remove from transport tanks
• Transport system must be able to maintain water quality – temperature, pH, Dissolved Oxygen (DO), and water level for 24 hours
• 20-40g juveniles at transport densities of up to 60kg/m3
• 1-3kg fish at transport densities of up to 100kg/ m3

The Modular Environmentally Controlled Transport System has the following components:

1. Flatbed trailer with air ride system and walkway access or loading and offloading and a tire pressure control system for trailer and truck to reduce vibration and jolting on rough roads
2. Insulated tanks with individual monitoring and management of water parameters
3. Water quality management for temperature, CO2, pH, DO and water level for each tank
4. Independent diesel power supply with a backup diesel generator and shore power option to operate all systems even when the truck is not running
5. Systems control for integrating power, blower and chiller requirements for each tank and information feed to Programmable Logic Controllers(PLC)
6. PLCs that provides real time data on the conditions of each tank, power and blower systems and remote monitoring and environmental control from the cab of the truck

In addition to the above components, a water supply system was constructed to ensure appropriate water quality and volume to fill the tanks in the shortest amount of time to reduce the handling of the fish and to ensure the highest quality water at the start of the transport.

3. Results

The modular transport trailer has been constructed and all components tested against design criteria through various mock-up scenarios that simulate potential issues during transport. This process has also determined procedures to ensure adverse scenarios can be addressed in a way that keeps the fish alive and well. Due to a delay in receiving the fish tanks, the opportunity to transport 2012 juveniles was missed and transport trials for juveniles will now be conducted in June 2013. A market for 1.5kg live fish in the Vancouver area has been developed and this work will continue. Discussions for collaborative projects with other companies have been initiated and will continue.

4. Changes, Revisions and Future Activities

Changes in Design

The following changes were made after the initial design was submitted to AIMAP. These changes have enhanced the functionality of the transport systems, reduced costs and reduced the environmental footprint.

• Tank hatch originally designed as 2'x2' with a window was modified to1'x1' without a window to reduce costs and improve functionality.
• The second backup blower was sized at 2.5hp to reduce power requirements, cost and weight and still meet requirements.
• The proposed 30kW diesel generator and 10kW diesel back-up generator were replaced by one 12kW diesel generator using electrical power as backup to reduce cost and weight and to reduce environmental footprint

5. Future Activities

The control systems have been designed to be modified for individual transports taking into consideration many variables such as the age, size and density of the fish being transported, the distance of the transport, the quality of the water when initially filling the tanks, air temperature and other variables.

The testing of the environmental controls will be ongoing with evaluation using 1.5kg fish and juvenile 10g fish being tentatively scheduled for the summer of 2013.

6. Project Completion