DEVELOPMENT OF

ECONOMIC CAGE
Julio Lpez-Alvarado,
Instituto Nacional de Pesca,

E-mail: julio.lopez.alvarado@outlook.com

AQUACULTURE SYSTEMS FOR

Walter Ruz and

Letamendi 102 y La Ra,

ARTISANAL FISHERMEN IN
ECUADOR

Edwin Moncayo
Guayaquil, Ecuador.

ABSTRACT
Economic cage aquaculture systems were
designed for artisanal fishermen in Ecuador, in
order to provide them with an alternative
method of fish and shrimp production that could
complement

their

fishing

activities.

These

simple systems are easy to build, maintain and

operate, not requiring expensive machinery and
heavy equipment. This additional economic
activity could enhance the standard of life for
local fishing communities in Ecuador.

Building large
cages

Introduction

Large commercial aquaculture offshore cages

are made using high density polyethylene
(HDPE) pipes and brackets, using heavy pipe
fusion

equipment,

and

following

strict

manufacturing procedures. Due to the highly

specialized nature of these installations, and
the

costs

associated

with

materials

and

manpower, a typical offshore aquaculture

operation may cost a few million dollars. The
installation

and

maintenance

of

these

systems requires the services of large boats

The aim of this work was to describe a

cheap cage aquaculture system that we
have developed and built for small scale
aquaculture in Ecuador. In order to allow
for small farmers and fishermen to enter
this activity, we designed a small scale
system that may be used to safely culture
fish and shrimp at small scale, that could
be managed by the use of small tender
boats and non specialized workers.

Figure 2. Cutting HDPE pipe to the appropriate

sizes.

Figure 1. Bracket
designed to develop
experimental
aquaculture cages.
Figure 3. Assembling the flotation rings with the
brackets.

Materials and Methods

Cages: Experimental cage models were
designed with the following specifications:
Brackets: the brackets designed for these cages
were made of HDPE pipes, 160 mm in diameter
(Fig. 1).
Each cage had 2 circular flotation rings made of
HDPE pipes of 110 mm diameter and 10 at. The
inner ring had 24 meters circumference, and the
outer ring had 26 m circumference. The
building process is shown in figures 2-8. The final
aspect of the finished cage is shown in Fig. 9.

Figure 4. Butt fusion machine used for construction of experimental

cages. The equipment comprises a manual lining base unit, a hot plate
(heating element) with electronic temperature control, and a plane
cutter.

Figure 5. Before welding, pipes were

plane-cutted to make the welding
surface smooth and to get a perfect fit.

Figure 6. Butt welding

of the pipes. Pipes were
heated for 2 minutes at
220 C

Figure 7. Pipes being fused

under pressure after
heating-melting.

Figure 8. Stanchions made of HDPE

pipes were inserted in each bracket.

Figure 9. Finished experimental cage.

Results and Discussion

The cage culture system designed and built for the artisanal
fishermen of Ecuador has an overall cost of aprox. 5,000 USD
including cage, nets and moorings. This is a very small
investment, compared to the nearly 2 million USD needed to
build a 2,000 ton capacity farm. The culture volume of each
cage is aprox. 200 m3, that could yield a production of
12,000 kg per year of cobia (in three crops of 4,000 kg each).
This is a very limited production, that would not be
interesting for investors and big companies. However, this
small production could be very interesting for an individual
fishermen or a small fishing boat.

Conclusion
An average production of 1,000 kg per month could mean net
earnings (once expenses are discounted) in excess of 2,000 USD
per month, and that would be a very significant income for a
small fishing boat. Besides, the management of this small unit
does not require full time dedication, and it could be managed
by the fishermen on their way to their other fishing activities. An
additional benefit for the artisanal fishermen could be the
efficient use of rejected fish (incidental captures that are usually
discarded). This fish could be used as trash fish to feed the
aquacultured fish and reduce the cost of feeding.

Acknowledgements
The authors thank Secretara Superior de Educacin Ciencia y Tecnologa
(SENESCYT), Republic of Ecuador, and Prometeo Project for its support.
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Publisher: lulu.com, ISBN: 978-1-326-30053-1