Recirculation system (RAS)

Recirculation system (RAS)

A Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) has a built-in water treatment system. After used water has been treated it flows back into the fishpond to create recirculation. This makes the water usage relatively low. Production parameters like temperature, the amount of feed, oxygen, pH, and waste content can be monitored and optimized as the system is completely closed off from the outside environment. This prevents fish escaping and the spread of diseases to  populations of wild fish. Therefore, the use of medicine and chemicals is no longer needed. The Netherlands has accumulated a lot of knowledge about recirculation systems in the past years. The advantages of this system can be found in the complete control over the production process, and as the water is treated and re-used it has low impact on the environment.