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Environment
Environment
Environment
Adoption

Reducing the environmental impacts and improving the profitability of prawn trawling through a structured framework of anterior gear modifications

Project number: 2011-010
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $834,597.00
Principal Investigator: Matt K. Broadhurst
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Project start/end date: 31 Aug 2011 - 30 Sep 2015
:

Need

Commercial in confidence. To know more about this project please contact FRDC.

Objectives

Commercial in confidence
Environment
Environment
Industry

Evaluation of nanobubble technology in aquaculture

Project number: 2019-139
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $294,869.00
Principal Investigator: Igor Pirozzi
Organisation: Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
Project start/end date: 30 Jun 2021 - 29 Jun 2023
:

Need

In intensive aquaculture systems oxygen supplementation is necessary to prevent hypoxia; however, oversupply can hyper-saturate systems causing gas bubble disease. Oxygenation in aquaculture, fish holding and transport systems using standard technologies is extremely inefficient; standard oxygen transfer efficiencies (SOTE) are estimated at between 2 and 6% per m submergence for coarse and fine bubble diffusers, respectively, at standard conditions of 0 ppt salinity and 20 °C. Advances in the efficiency of gas–liquid phase processes has seen the emergence of nanobubble technologies producing ultrafine bubbles (⌀ 1 µm). The advantage of nanobubbles over larger micro/macrobubbles is that they are neutrally buoyant, negatively charged and can remain within the water column, potentially for weeks. Nanobubble technologies now have a demonstrated application across a broad variety of industries including wastewater treatment, biomedical engineering, gas and oil industry, agriculture, and the food industry. Surprisingly, outside of Japan, there has been little research on the application of nanobubble technology to the aquaculture sector. Nanobubble technology can potentially improve oxygen delivery systems for fish stock and water treatment in aquaculture systems, improving the nitrifying capacity of biofilters and efficiencies in fractionation units. However, there are currently no reliable studies demonstrating the efficacy of nanobubble technology, nor any assessment of the potential health impacts on fish in aquaculture systems. We have undertaken a preliminary pilot trial with encouraging results. Oxygenation was applied to a recirculating aquaculture system via nanobubble injectors for 10 days and fish (yellowtail kingfish) were observed to feed and behave normally when compared to a control group. Before this technology can be considered for broader adoption, a thorough long term investigation needs to be undertaken to assess the long term health effects on fish stock held in nanobubble oxygenated water and the suitability for application of this technology to the aquaculture industry.

Objectives

1. To demonstrate the efficacy of nanobubble technology for use in finfish aquaculture by:i) assessing the health, growth and feed conversion efficiencies of fish cultured in a recirculating aquaculture system at different temperatures, salinities and stocking densities exposed to nanobubblesii) determining the effect of nanobubble oxygenation on waste water treatment efficiencies in a recirculating aquaculture system.iii) providing a preliminary cost benefit analysis on the implementation of nanobubble aeration to an aquaculture system

Final report

Author: Igor Pirozzi
Final Report • 2025-02-21 • 2.76 MB
2019-039-DLD.pdf

Summary

Nanobubble (NB) technology, i.e. the production of ultrafine bubbles with diameters <1 µm, is an emerging field which has the potential to greatly improve oxygenation efficiencies in aquaculture production. Before this technology can be considered for adoption by the aquaculture industry, a thorough assessment of the health and growth effects on fish stock held in NB oxygenated water is required. Three trials were conducted to compare NB technology with conventional oxygenation setup (ceramic diffusers and air stones, oxygen gas and air) in a recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) under a number of different aquaculture scenarios testing i) stocking density, ii) salinity, and iii) temperature. 
Environment
PROJECT NUMBER • 2019-103
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

Strategic Planning Workshop for Yellowtail Kingfish Stock Assessment in South-Eastern Australia

The project facilitated cross-jurisdictional and cross-sectoral discussions on aspects of the Eastern Australia biological stock of Yellowtail Kingfish. Several knowledge gaps relating to biological and life-history parameters, as well as reliable data on the recreational fishery across all...
ORGANISATION:
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW)
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Organisation