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I'm confused why this keeps saying indoor, when it just seems to be talking about a more modern "raceway" system that has been used since at least the 80's, tha

I'm confused why this keeps saying indoor, when it just seems to be talking about a more modern "raceway" system that has been used since at least the 80's, that I know of. Everything it described sounds exactly like the farm my dad used to run, except inside. The "indoors" part just sounds like a more expensive way to do raceways and probably isn't needed in most cases. Can anyone explain the difference? Or is "indoor" just a buzzword here? I'm all for more fish farming. Raceways are extremely efficient. During harvest season we were harvesting around 30,000lbs of hyrbid striped bass every 2 weeks off half an acre, with just my dad running the farm and me helping with the grunt work. We also had a few of the unused raceways dedicated to Tilapia as a side income, which were basically self sustaining and just needed to be fed. They bred faster than we harvested them.

Brajeshwar 8y ago
I'm guessing the implication of "indoor" is that is it climate-controlled, and external variations of outdoors are reduced entirely or as much as possible. I'm yet to learn about fish but I know the binary difference of "outdoor" and "indoor" when it comes to crop farming.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
justinsb 8y ago
The article suggests that the difference is the water recirculation - that the "waste" water is cleaned rather than being removed. Is that how your farm's raceway worked?
- mawburn 8y ago
  Yes, it was cycled back through and filtered (through sand and plastic I believe) before being re-pumped back into the system from a retaining pond, then supplemented by a ground water pump to account for evaporation or other loss. Oxygen was pumped in separately from liquid oxygen tanks. Disclaimer in case there are any more questions... this is about as far as my knowledge goes on this. lol I'm sure it was much more complicated than what I understand.
AnimalMuppet 8y ago
What were the economics of that operation? Cost, profit (or loss), time required to operate it?
- mawburn 8y ago
  I know they were high, but I'm not sure about the actual numbers. I just carried fish food and packaged fish. My dad did everything else. I think cost of the fingerlings (post-fry juvenile fish) were the biggest thing that cut into the profits.

Brajeshwar 8y ago

I'm guessing the implication of "indoor" is that is it climate-controlled, and external variations of outdoors are reduced entirely or as much as possible. I'm yet to learn about fish but I know the binary difference of "outdoor" and "indoor" when it comes to crop farming.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

justinsb 8y ago

The article suggests that the difference is the water recirculation - that the "waste" water is cleaned rather than being removed. Is that how your farm's raceway worked?

mawburn 8y ago
Yes, it was cycled back through and filtered (through sand and plastic I believe) before being re-pumped back into the system from a retaining pond, then supplemented by a ground water pump to account for evaporation or other loss. Oxygen was pumped in separately from liquid oxygen tanks. Disclaimer in case there are any more questions... this is about as far as my knowledge goes on this. lol I'm sure it was much more complicated than what I understand.

AnimalMuppet 8y ago

What were the economics of that operation? Cost, profit (or loss), time required to operate it?

mawburn 8y ago
I know they were high, but I'm not sure about the actual numbers. I just carried fish food and packaged fish. My dad did everything else. I think cost of the fingerlings (post-fry juvenile fish) were the biggest thing that cut into the profits.