Intended Audience

This workshop is recommended for fish culturists/biologists, farmers, biologists, engineers/environmentalists, natural resource agency personnel, town/city planners, teachers/educators, and others involved or interested in aquacultural programs.

About the Program

This program consists of three parts and is designed to enhance your understanding of the design and operation of various types of aquaculture facilities:
  • Part 1: Tour of Virginia Tech's recirculating aquaculture facilities and introduction to various forms of aquaculture
  • Part 2: Symposium on aquacultural waste management
  • Part 3: Workshop on the design and operation of aquaculture facilities.

Sponsored By

Virginia Tech's

American Fisheries Society &endash; Virginia Tech Chapter

Aquacultural Engineering Society

Aquaculture in the Mid Atlantic

Virginia Sea Grant College Program

Department of Games and Inland Fisheries

Freshwater Institute

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

You can register for the symposium (Part 2), which includes Part 1, and/or the workshop (Part 3). 

Part 1 activities were arranged to provide participants with an opportunity to tour Virginia Tech's Recirculating Aquaculture facilities and to learn about general aquaculture concepts. The trip to the Virginia Tech Recirculating Aquaculture Center in Blacksburg, Virginia, is approximately one hour by bus each way. The recirculating aquaculture facility is one of the most technologically advanced university facilities in the world. The complex consists of a 11,066 square foot recirculating aquaculture laboratory designed to test components and optimize system management and green house to study methods of resource recovery from the recirculating aquaculture system waste streams. The tour begins at 1:00 pm and concludes at 5:00 pm. The tour departs from the North Lobby Entrance at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. The tour and lecture will provide you with a solid background in aquaculture, which will enable you to better understand the subject matter of the symposium and workshop.

 

Part 2 of the program is dedicated to waste management regulations and practices. The US EPA is now in the midst of developing new waste management regulations for the aquaculture industry. The deadline for the final rule is 2002. USDA formed a committee of experts around the US to discuss the issues, review state-of-the-art practices, and make recommendations to the EPA. Several of the experts serving on the USDA committee will make presentations at this program concerning waste management and best management practices (BMPs). The USDA and EPA will also be represented at the symposium to give an update on the progress of their efforts. Thus, you will have an opportunity through the symposium to interact with regulatory personnel and experts to learn about BMPs for several types of aquaculture and the status of upcoming regulations.

 

Part 3 is a workshop related to the design and operations of various types of aquaculture facilities. Harry Westers, President of Aquaculture Bioengineering and former head of aquaculture operations in the state of Michigan, is the featured speaker. Over the course of 2.5 days, Mr. Westers will lead participants through the basic principles of designing and operating aquaculture facilities. You will also perform a series of calculations related to the design of aquaculture facilities and be introduced to a computer program that will enable you to readily complete the calculations. Virginia Tech faculty will assist Mr. Westers with the computer applications portion of workshop. You will be given a copy of the computer software as part of the workshop materials.