ODRAS yield. From Tony.
By email
Oct 4, 2018
Quote from May 29, 2018 conference call:
Question: What is the contribution and expected contribution of ODRAS to production and revenue at Tri-way? What are the main differences between generation 1, 2, and 3 ODRAS systems? Can you comment on the ROI of generation 3 systems in Yangjiang? They appear quite good. Is more ODRAS production built into the pipeline? Is future development contemplated; if so, can cost be lowered from the current cost of $1M per hectare?
Partial answer: Yes, the ODRAS systems work well, in part, because of promoting water recirculating with stable microbial populations to reduce the chance of disease. Our latest, improved, 3rd generation ODRAS Farm in Yangjiang was built in Q1 of 2017. It started operation in Q2 2017 and by the end of Q4 2017, produced over a 9 month-period a total of 600 MT of small to large sized Pacific white shrimp (L. vannamei), generating sales revenue of [edited] US$7.2 million. This represented an average yield of 6 MT / Mu / 9 months / 3 harvests (annually yielding 8 MT / Mu) on 100 Mu of net-effective grow-out areas.
…….More 3rd generation ODRAS systems are planned on other sites to increase total mu in production as a solid pond strategy for TRW. For instance, in Q4 2017, we retrofitted 186 Mu of land located opposite to AF3’s old open pond farm property at Shenwan Town, Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province. This farm has just started 2018 operations, targeting annual production to exceed 1000 MT (annually yielding 8 MT / Mu) on a net-effective grow-out area of 130 Mu.
Quote from September 6, 2018 conference call:
Question: Please update the operational progress at Tri-Way with projected production increases at the various aquafarms, if possible? Specifically, will you please comment on the trials with White Shrimp and its implications, as well as generation 3 ODRAS?
Partial answer: Based on the success of 3rd generation ODRAS for white shrimp at the cooperating Yangjiang facilities reported during Q1, 2018, we plan to contract those facilities under Tri-way beginning March 2019. Based on estimates provided earlier, ODRAS 3rd generation ponds can yield up to 24 MT/mu/yr of white shrimp (i.e., 4MT/mu/cycle x 6 cycles). We currently have 6,000 mu of farming land of which 2,500 mu is currently operating using standard and earlier ODRAS fish and shrimp production methodology and 1,000 mu dedicated to indoor APRAS technology application. The remaining 2,500 mu of land is available for development of our choosing. Approximately 90 mu of 3rd generation ODRAS production ponds can be built on 150 mu of land.
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The May 29, 2018 answer responded to actual contribution of production by 3rd generation ODRAS farms based on 2 MT/mu/cycle (~3 kg/m3 at harvest) x 4 (projected) cycles/year (= 8 MT/mu/yr). This is all-in/all-out harvest of a cycle, which is = 3 months (including growout, harvest, restocking downtime). It is a comfortable projection based on actual performance.
The September 6, 2018 answer responded to what production can achieve based on year-round estimates projected by Solomon, not actual empirical evidence. Projected is 4 MT/mu/cycle x 6 cycles/yr. This estimate is over a 2 month production cycle from 3 gram animals; not a 3 month cycle as is normal from </= 1 gram post-nursery animals, and a projected production (harvest) density of 6 kg/m3. Year-round production or densities to ~6 kg/m3 have not yet been tested or confirmed in 3rd generation ODRAS production.
Another approach to obtaining 4 MT/mu/cycle (but again not yet tested in ODRAS) is to use a partial harvest strategy. Animals are overstocked initially, then after one month half are harvested at a smaller size (10-13 grams), when density is roughly 3 kg/m3. The remaining animals are then grown to a larger size (18-21+grams) over the remaining month and also harvested at about 3 kg/m3. You effectively have two harvests/cycle, roughly averaging 2 MT each. The advantage here is that for this species, growth rate is inversely related to biomass density.
In fact, our ODRAS ponds have routinely achieved from 2-3 MT/mu/cycle and I know companies with similar, but not the same technology have reached up to 3.5 MT/mu (single all-in/all-out harvest), although not routinely. Harvest is usually of 15-20 gram animals depending upon quality of management and actual production density, location of farm (temp, water quality), etc. It has also been scientifically documented in smaller-scale, super-intensive biofloc systems that shrimp can be raised up to 8 kg/m3.
Projection to 24MT/mu/yr in 3rd generation ODRAS is currently theoretical. It would depend upon which initial stocking strategy is used (1 or 3 gram post-nursery shrimp), year-round (meaning greenhouse, covered outdoor ponds), and effectively less than 2 months of growth at circa. >2 grams/week (considering harvest down time and restocking), and target harvest size (16 – 20 grams). Growth of shrimp (L. vannamei) is linear after 1 gram. This species can currently reach slightly better than 2 grams/week growth under the best conditions. Selective breeding has improved growth over the last 10-15 years and can continue to do so.
The determination of which scenario to choose (partial vs. single harvest) biologically &/or economically justifies the value of doing scientifically-based, applied R&D. Effect of density on growth in the system is also critical because it affects overall production. Another question of interest is comparing if employing more costly strategies to obtain faster growth in the nursery (1 vs. 3 grams in the same amount of time), maximizes post nursery growth in the growout phase (maybe > 2 grams/wk growth?), which in turn offsets the more costly nursery approach with greater harvest size and better price. I hope this helps your understanding.
Anthony C. Ostrowski, Ph.D.
Chief Scientific Officer
Sino Agro Food, Inc.
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