Lobster Hatchery
Shellfish Hatchery Systems Ltd.
The development of the Aquahive trays
Designing the Aquahive tray. The Aquahive tray was designed by technical director Richard Land in 2005, and draws heavily from cell forms found in nature. The hexagon is a shape found in the construction of bee cells and other natural forms, and the bisected hexagon found in plant cells gives significant structural strength to the larger form. This design was also chosen because it provides one of the best shapes in which a juvenile lobster can develop. The juvenile lobster, post stage 4, would naturally seek out a small crevice or hole in which to retreat, and instinctively positions itself in the acute angle of the bisected hexagonal cell of the Aquahive tray. The juvenile lobsters also need to be kept separated to prevent them causing both predation and damage to each other.
The Aquahive cylinder was designed around the stacked Aquahive trays to provide a continuous column of upward-moving water and occasional feed. The juvenile lobster in the cell feeds from food particles released into the rising column of water, capturing large particles, and then feeding from food particles settled out in its cell. The stimulation of the moving water and food particles increases the rate at which the juvenile lobster feeds, increasing in turn the growth rate of the juvenile lobster. Each Aquahive tray contains 162 individual cells.
A great advantage of the Aquahive system and trays is that larvae can be transferred from the incubator at stage 4, and also at late stage 3. This is a unique feature of the Aquahive, meaning that an operator can transfer all the larvae from an incubator to an Aquahive at the same time, rather than netting out individual lobsters at stage 4. In the incubator system the highest level of predation is during the stage 3-4 moulting. Transferring at stage 3-4 has also been demonstrated to improve overall survival of the lobster larvae.
All of these factors combine to out-perform any other system currently being used to raise juvenile lobsters.
The trays are constructed from polypropylene making them not only hard-wearing but also easy to clean, and more importantly, able to float. This is essential for filling the trays, as the larvae can be transferred from water to water, preventing long-term exposure to air at early-stage larval development.
