Keeping things cool for a salmon hatchery

Salmon in fish farms need exactly the right temperature to thrive: too high and they grow too quickly; too low and they don't grow fast enough. Seasonal fluctuations can make finding that equilibrium challenging and there is only a small window of opportunity to get the tanks back to the right temperature.

So when Cooke Aquaculture found fluctuating temperatures in their tanks, they called us knowing we’d successfully dealt with the same problem the year before. We knew we faced logistical challenges with access and small onsite unloading areas, but were able to respond immediately anyway.

Within four days of contact, we had surveyed the site and installed a tailored temperature-control package that saved time and fuel costs. Instead of regulating the temperature in the whole tank, we cooled the water from only the slipstream of the recirculation system.

We pumped the slipstream water through exchangers where coolant cooled by chillers absorbed the excess heat and brought the temperature to a couple of degrees lower than the optimal temperature. We then mixed that cooler water back into the main body of the tank, where warmer water equalised the temperature to the exact heat required.

The 100,000 litres of water in four tanks were cooled to the regulated temperature in just four days, allowing Cooke Aquatics to continue their salmon production cycle with optimal-sized fish. By cooling only part of the water we saved on cost and time and, by drawing on our experience from the previous year, we could advise Cooke Aquaculture on the best way to install permanent pipework to improve the tidiness and safety of their installation.