Floating or In-ground - Portable Raceway
By:  Jay Warecki, Ph.D., "fish whisperer", Superior Aquaculture, LLC.
(715) 335-3474; Fax: (715) 335-6547; 7172 Isherwood Rd., Bancroft, WI 54921
Email: info@superiorraceways.com

Overview: A new technological advance in high-density aquaculture is now available. It opens the door for the use of hundreds of thousands of acres of water formerly unsuitable for aquaculture. After five years of research and refinement, Superior Aquaculture LLC, with headquarters in central Wisconsin, has recently introduced its new line of Superior Floating or In-ground Raceways (Patent Pending).

Environmentally responsible, financially friendly, and simple, this system provides a unique and flexible mechanism for high-density fish rearing. The floating, flow-through application shown below uses the economy of air-lift pumps for water movement and removes most solids before discharging into pond, which easily handles denitrification, dissolved nutrients, and further aeration.

Raceway Size, Shape & Dimensions: Raceways are available in an infinite variety of sizes and shapes, including unlimited length. They can be wide or narrow, shallow or deep. One example is a 12 ft. x 80 ft. x 3 ft. deep model having a long central baffle, and a racetrack flow with a low head recirculation system, usable for shrimp production. This unit, like others, can be placed in a shallow excavation with bermed sides. Minimal digging, no hauling and little or no additional side support is needed.

Raceway Construction Material: Superior Raceways are constructed of a fish grade, semi-rigid, high-density polyethylene (hdpe) plastic that is virtually indestructible and impenetrable when used as described. The material is about 1/8 inch thick and treated to resist u.v. radiation. In three years of extensive, practical use and testing, the raceways have been exposed to muskrats, beavers, otters, snapping turtles, and a host of macro and micro organisms. The raceways have been exposed to three years of Wisconsin winters, used both normally and shut down, i.e. turned off so that they would freeze solid in three foot thick ice. The results? Absolutely zero damage! No cracking, chewing, or nibble marks.

When used with widely fluctuating water levels, the raceways simply float up or down. The white bottoms, which can turn a light green if not brushed, greatly enhance observation of fish behavior, especially in stained or colored waters. The dark sides assist small fish in identifying and efficiently collecting feed.

Environmental Issues: Superior Raceways are extremely environmentally friendly. Sometimes called "in-pond raceways", the concept evolved from ancient cage culture techniques and modern pen culture. Floating raceways are generally far superior to cages and pens, depending upon application. In floating, flow-through applications, a top water exit, combined with an approximate 1:5 width-to-length ratio on standard models, allows excellent capture of solids. Most uneaten feed and feces settle to the bottom of the trough near the exit, where they can be air-lifted out, concentrated in a settling basin and used for farm fertilizer. In some cases, the water from the settling basin can be discharged to a created wetland.

When used in a closed pond setting, there is zero discharge to the public domain. Soluble reactive phosphorous (SRP), ammonia, and some other soluble nutrients may leave the raceway, but are very effectively treated by the ponds flora and fauna. Water quality within the raceway also remains outstanding. The smooth surface of the raceways significantly facilitates cleaning, reduces mouth fungus, and improves fish health.

Applications: The technological improvements provided by this system have opened the door to innumerable applications. Some primary applications include the following types of waters: quarries, gravel pits, open pit mines, stump and tree-filled waters, reservoirs, marshes, irrigation ponds, estuaries, sheltered coastal waters, rivers, and even sport fishing ponds (because the vast majority of the pond is still available for alternative uses). Researchers and aquaculturists are invited to "color outside the lines" and to discuss their "far-out" applications with the author.

Hatchery Operations: Hatchery operations for both freshwater and saltwater finfish, shellfish, aquatic vegetation, and even alligators can gain innumerable benefits from these raceways, including: zooplankton production and concentration, early stage imprinting, portability to different sites in same year, multi-species use in same year, multiple age or strain use in same water body, shock reduction caused by water changes or transportation, efficiency of small scale hatchery operation related to reduction of emission and discharge obstacles, reduction of expensive (shoreline) land costs, reduction of conflict with competing coastal resource users, and improved bio-security by local production of environmentally proven, locally successful strains (reducing inter-zone species movement).