Systems invloved with Wastewater Treatment and Aquaculture of Arcata Marsh
- Treatment of incoming water from Wastewater Treatment Site
- Fish Egg Incubator
- Juvenile Fish Rearing Pens
- Fish Hatchery
Incoming Material (effluent) from Wastewater treatment plant
- The water that is treated at the plant is pumped and mixed with saltwater from the bay to produce a mixture that the fish can survive in.
- This is accomplished by a pump at the headgates that controls water salinity as well as a forced air pump that helps regulate dissolved oxygen and screens water for dangerous compounds.
- Prior to 1991 the systems were all closed, but with the addition of numerous pipes connecting the ponds, it is now a continuously flowing system
Fish Hatchery System
The growth cycle of the fish is as follows:
- Egg incubators
- Recirculating Rearing Pens
- Yearling ponds
- Adult fish ponds
- Release or transportation for continued use
Egg Incubators
- The system used involves trays of eggs that are constantly being treated with flowing water.
- The water is drawn from a 500 gallon resevoir thats located underground.
- Water exiting the system as well as returning to the resevoir is ran through filration systems to insure that dissolved organic material is removed from the system.
Rearing Pens
- Fry and Fingerlings (fish development stages) are kept in rearing pens under a 2000 gallon recirculating system.
- Sterilizing and filtration system are in place to ensure water quality and fish health.
- Two chamber plastic lined tanks are used to hold the fish, they also include rocks and oyster shells to provide natural habitat reenactment.
Yearling Ponds
Adult Ponds
- Pond one and pond 2 are both used to house the adult fish which have made it through the adolecent stages of growth, they are the largest ponds and have the largest fish.