Standard operating procedure manual for the shallow water super-intensive stacked raceway system for shrimp production at the Texas AgriLife Mariculture Research Laboratory, Port Aransas, Texas

Abstract

The shallow water super-intensive stacked raceway system (patent pending) addresses many environmental and production constraints that have hindered shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) aquaculture from sustained success in the United States. The tanks are stacked atop one another so that vertical production can be achieved which reduces water and land use, along with the size of the building. The stacked raceway system also increases management efficiency. By constructing the raceways in buildings, optimum production water quality, temperature, and salinity can be achieved along with maximum bio-security. The indoor stacked system will utilize a designed system of transfers and partial harvests so that optimum harvest biomass can be achieved with every crop. A pilot system of the raceways has been constructed at the Texas AgriLife Research Laboratory in Port Aransas, TX. This system has shown promising results for survival and growth and has the potential to achieve 1,200,000 kg/ha water footprint in shrimp production each year, which is far more than the current U.S. pond shrimp production rate. Standard operating procedures were developed to guide operation and maintenance of the stacked raceway system. Included is information on system design, daily maintenance, feeding, water quality management, transfers and harvesting. Procedures were developed through several production trials from May 2011 to June 2012.