WWW.WA S .ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • MARCH 2022 49 production of red tilapia in an IPRS to a market size of 270340 g. Two diets were evaluated during the production trial. Methodology A pond of 4225 m² with 3.7 m depth (15,632 m³) was used for installation of an IPRS. The system consisted of 20 small (14.5 m³) floating raceways, providing a total of 290 m³ of fish containment, equivalent to 1.9 percent of the total pond volume. One 1.5-hp regenerative air blower was installed for every two raceways. For 20 raceways, ten blowers was equivalent to 35.5 hp/ha. The water velocity in raceway channels created by the blowers was 13.8 cm/sec, providing a water exchange of 1.43 raceway volumes per minute. Of the 20 raceways, 12 were used for this study, with six raceways used for each 32-percent protein diet. Red tilapia fingerlings were raised during the cold months in a small greenhouse and then size-graded. Fish were treated for parasites and diseases at the greenhouse. Fish were stocked in early March when water temperature was 21.5 C in the morning and 22.0 C in the afternoon. Each raceway was stocked with 4,200 fingerlings (29-37 g/fish), equivalent to 290 fish/m3. During the first month, fish were fed a 38-percent crude protein diet and, in the following months, with one of two 32-percent protein diets. Fish were fed six times daily, taking care to not overfeed, and pellet size was adjusted according to fish size. Fewmortalities were observed during the crop period. However, gill flukes and Trichodina parasites were observed occasionally and were treated with salt baths. Fish were sampled twice per month. One hundred fish were Mission UpReach is a a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to “developing Christian leaders to transformwestern Honduras.” The Mission focuses on “educating children, teenagers and adults by training and equipping them to be leaders both in their communities and in their local churches.” The Moses Project is a 49-ha commercial farm and agriculture training facility associated with the Mission in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras. At any given time, this facility houses an average of 40-45 boys above the age of 13 and the farm provides employment for as many as 180 community members. The boys and young men learn best practices in the technical and economic aspects of agriculture, specifically in coffee, fish and poultry. The program provides training and equipping of the future generations of coffee farmers, business owners and community leaders. The water supply for the fish farm is a spring well located on the slope of an adjacent hill and water is then conveyed by gravity to the ponds. However, the water supply is very limited for traditional fish culture. Therefore, an in-pond raceway system (IPRS) was seen as a way to use water efficiently to grow fish. After installation and operation of the IPRS, production capacity of the tilapia farm increased from about 43 t in 2018 to almost 227 t in 2019. The objective of establishing an IPRS was focused on evaluation and planning for an environmentally and economically self-sustaining enterprise. The main objective was to train and educate young boys on culture of red tilapia using IPRS technology. The study described in this article sought to validate protocols for Commercial Demonstration of a Floating In-pond Raceway System with Red Tilapia at Mission UpReach, Honduras Esau Arana, Jon Stacy, Fredy Sanabria and Jesse Chappell ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 5 0 ) FIGURE 1. The fish ponds at Mission UpReach, Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras. FIGURE 2. Part of the floating In-pond Raceway System (IPRS) at Mission UpReach, Honduras.
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