Evaluation of abalone effluent for reclamation

View the project final report

Commodities

• Animals: shellfish

Practices

• Education and Training: extension, technical assistance
• Farm Business Management: whole farm planning, agricultural finance
• Pest Management: sanitation
• Production Systems: agroecosystems, integrated crop and livestock systems
• Sustainable Communities: new business opportunities, sustainability measures

Producing abalone in a land-based system requires pumping seawater from offshore intakes into a head tank, where it flows by gravity to individual tanks stocked with various size and age classes of abalone. The seawater pumping cost is the largest expense at The Cultured Abalone Aquafarm, an expense that owner Douglas Bush said limits expansion and diversification of aquafarm production. Reclaiming the already pumped seawater from abalone effluent could be a sustainable alternative to increased seawater pumping. With a Western SARE Farmer/Rancher grant, Bush plans to sample and analyze the effluent on his abalone farm, which will help him design a seawater reclamation unit specific to an abalone waste stream. Potential savings in pumping costs could allow him to expand or diversify his operation. Viewing effluent as a water resource, as opposed to a waste product, provides an opportunity to increase efficiency and decrease environmental impact.