RAS supplier Fresh by Design clinches hatchery contract
Australian aquaculture supplier Fresh By Design has won a contract to design and construct new hatchery systems for the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (NSW Fisheries/NSW DPI) at the Gaden Trout Hatchery in the Snowy Mountains area south of Canberra.
As part of an AU$5 million (£2.65m) expansion of the hatchery funded by renewable electricity generator Snowy Hydro, NSW DPI is delivering a new recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) facility designed to safeguard the Snowy Mountains trout industry for the long term, Fresh by Design said in a social media post.
The hatchery in southeast Australia is situated next to the Thredbo River, a tributary of the Snowy River that flows into Lake Jindabyne
More resilient trout
The investment forms a key component of the Snowy 2.0 Recreational Fishing Management Plan, supporting the production of larger, more resilient rainbow and brown trout. The expanded facility will significantly increase hatchery capability, with capacity to produce up to 20 tonnes of trout annually, helping protect recreational fisheries and mitigate risks associated with climate variability and pest species.
The project comprises four RAS, each including 4 × 5,000-litre polyethylene circular tanks, providing a modular, repeatable platform for hatchery operations. Each system is designed to deliver stable water quality, operational reliability, and high levels of control across all critical parameters.
Biosecure system
Each RAS includes a drum filter for solids removal, a moving bed bioreactor for nitrification, return pumping, UV sterilisation, temperature control via heat pumps, and mechanical filtration.
The hatchery systems are further supported by centralised quality monitoring and control, automatic feeding, and aeration.
Fresh By Design, based in Moss Vale, south of Sydney, wrote that it looks forward to working closely with NSW DPI to deliver a robust, efficient, and biosecure hatchery system that supports long‑term performance and operational flexibility at the Gaden facility.