Oxygenated Fish Farms Are Creating More Sustainable Food Sources

The fjords of Norway are currently home to the largest salmon farms in the world. Open sea fish farming occurs in offshore cages and is vital to preserving wild fish populations that have been overfished across the world. As waters warm, and as the human population continues to increase worldwide, more sustainable food sources must be explored. 

Landlocked countries can cash in on this enterprise, too. Building reservoirs, or even manmade aquariums for fish farming is a precise, but practical process that utilizes cryogenic oxygen tanks on a large scale to promote fish growth all year round. This agricultural feat has great potential to become a new norm in many countries.  

Raising Sustainable Protein

It is a known fact that beef production is the number one source of greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is unrealistic that the world can produce enough vegetarians to counteract this. Fish is not only a great protein alternative but is high in omega fatty acids – a necessity for a healthy diet. 

Raising this source of protein involves logistics that consist of pumps, filters, disinfectants, and heating. The environment must be just right for such a task to succeed: adequate dissolved oxygen levels, water temperature, aeration so that water does not become stagnant, and the absence of excess carbon dioxide, nitrogen, or phosphorus. 

While nature operates in seasons of abundance and seasons of rest, fish farming applications can occur year-round through mimicking natural habitats through each of these alterations. Aeration through air pumps agitates water, releasing gas bubbles and preventing water from becoming stagnant. Through filtration systems, including disinfectants like ozone, fish are less likely to come down with illnesses, such as fish lice, and die off prior to harvest. 

There is one specific element that fish farming could not operate without, and that is oxygenation. Typically, this process is what keeps all the others at bay. 

Oxygenation’s Role in Fish Farming 

If the environment is not well managed, fish can succumb to a variety of natural stressors. Water temperature, stagnancy, and vegetation overgrowth all affect the amount of oxygen fish receive. When fish are living in water warmer than 86 degrees Fahrenheit, dissolved oxygen rates decrease. When this occurs, fish exert more energy just to breathe. Oxygenation for fish farms while maintaining optimal water temperatures gives fish more energy, thus making them hungrier, and increases growth rates. 

The oxygenation application, through various underwater machines such as cones, is fed by a cryogenic oxygen tank that distributes oxygen into the water. Cryogenic oxygen tanks are the most practical method of gas delivery, for their levels can be monitored via a remote telemetry process. High pressure tanks may be used but are only practical on very small scales. This process makes year-found fish farming possible. Limited sunlight doesn’t have to stunt growth, nor does plant life have to steal oxygen, and fish can live in the most healthy and effective environments for the unique purpose of food sourcing. 

Fish Farming in the Rocky Mountains

The Rockies may be landlocked, but they are home to a variety of fish species that serve as a delicious food source and a recreational pastime. Shipping seafood from the coast is expensive, and as the pandemic has shown, can be slowed at any given moment. While fish farming as a sustainable food source in the Rockies could very well be an up-and-coming endeavor, pond and lake oxygenation currently happens on a more residential scale. Golf courses, private reservoirs, and ranches may stock fish for food, recreation, or simply aesthetic. Oxygenation is an important application to maintaining healthy fish populations, no matter what the function may be. 

Rocky Mountain Air Solutions operates in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, and Nebraska. Representatives of your local branch are available for quotes or consultations on cryogenic oxygen tanks or high-pressure cylinders for your fish farming or stocking needs. We look forward to serving you in this exciting application!