Transportation 



Transportation of aquatic animals serves several purposes: 

 distribution to production systems for further growth, movement to 

 processing plants to be prepared into food and by-products, or for 

 stocking public waters or private fee-fishing waters. The 

 techniques and equipment used depend on the purpose of the 

 transport, the number of animals, their size and species, and the 

 distance and transport time involved. Support systems for 

 transporting live aquatic animals may be either open or closed. 

 The simplest open system is a water-filled tank in which dissolved 

 oxygen is maintained by compressed air, pure oxygen, or by 

 agitators. These systems are further modified by adding water 

 chillers (or heaters) and filters. Various chemicals, salts, and 

 drugs may be added to maintain water quality and reduce stress on the 

 animals . 



The closed system is simply a plastic bag or other container filled 

 with water and pure oxygen. The proper ratio of water to oxygen to 

 fish load has been studied and is used successfully in practice. 

 Salts, drugs, and other chemicals are also used to improve fish 

 handling in transport. This system is usually used to transport 

 relatively high-value animals over long distances. 



Some species such as molluscs and crustaceans do not need water 

 during transport and may be shipped merely by keeping them in a 



refrigerated environment. 



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Processing and Marketing 



The processing and marketing of aquaculture products varies widely 

 depending on the species and, to a lesser extent, on the geographic 

 area. The infrastructure for processing and marketing is not well 

 established for most species. Producers of cultured aquatic 

 species often use standard commercial fisheries facilities and 

 distribution networks. 



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