AQUACULTURE FEED MANAGEMENT SYSTEM POWERED BY RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES: INVESTMENT JUSTIFICATION

Fish feed accounts for more than 50% of aquaculture farms' operating costs and thus careful feeding planning is vital. In the case of the Mediterranean, most farms have their installations in coastal waters, hence this is relatively easy to perform. Low magnitude environmental conditions (winds, waves and currents) as well as easy and quick access ensures high consumption rates and smooth operation. Nevertheless, as competition for these waters increases the option of moving to offshore waters is seen as a solution. Moving further away from shore means exposing installations to harsher environments and lower degree of onshore monitoring. As a result, environmental conditions must now be monitored on-site, especially the ones affecting operations and feeding planning. For this reason, this article presents a feed management system powered by a stand-alone renewable energy sources system. The system provides energy independence and mobility by wirelessly transmitting important parameters onshore. An investment appraisal cost model is also described. The model compares the system's costs over the fish feed cost saved by a priori feeding planning through better monitoring of on-site conditions. It concludes that such synergies have profitable potentials.