Investment Feasibility Analysis of Large Submersible Cage Culture in Taiwan: A Case Study of Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum)

Abstract

Onshore farming for premium aquaculture is under scrutiny and criticism partially due to possible causes of adverse environmental impacts on other resource users and the surrounding environment. The best alternative to preventing or minimizing these impacts is to utilize open seawater by large submersible cage culture. The current operation in Taiwan has demonstrated that the culture operation is technically feasible but economically demanding because of high capital and operating costs. Therefore, this study conducted an economic analysis of the expansion of large submersible cage culture by selecting two premium species of snubnose pompano (Trachinotus anak) and cobia (Rachycentron canadum) and examined the profitability of large submersible cage culture investment. This study found that the current operation of four-unit cages highlighted a negative net present value and internal rate of return with a payback period of over ten and six years, respectively. Large submersible cage culture can be financially profitable when its operation unit expands from 8 to 24 units. Increasing unit cages to eight incurred a gross margin of 17.09%, BCR 1.21, with a payback period of 5.36 years. Expanding the operation to 24-unit cages was a potentially lucrative investment with a gross margin of 18.51%, BCR 1.23, PI 2.15, internal rate of return of 20.84%, and a payback period of 3.55 years. Sensitivity analyses revealed that market price and survival rate significantly impact the profitability of large submersible cage culture. Finally, it is suggested that producers could invest in 8-unit cages and maintaining the survival rate of snubnose pompano and cobia at 80% and 40%, respectively.

Economics of Cage Aquaculture Operations in Oyan Reservoir, Ogun State, Nigeria

“…The pay-back period of 4 years in local model cages from investment A is encouraging and shows that tilapia cage aquaculture can provide a significant return on investment. These results corroborate the findings of Lan et al 16 , who report a pay-back period of 3.55 years for 24-unit large submersible cage aquaculture in Taiwan. benefit-cost ratio greater than one, equal to one, or less than one indicates profit, break-even, or loss, respectively 17 .…”

“…These results however differ from the findings of Otubusin and Olaitan 18 , who report 34.10 and 53.34% RRI in small-scale tilapia farming in floating net cages from Lake Kainji, Nigeria. Also, Lan et al 16 found a higher profit index of 2.15 for Snubnose Pompano (Trachinotus anak) and Cobia (Rachycentron canadum) in large submersible cage cultures in Taiwan.…”

A Novel Process-Based Digital Twin for Intelligent Fish Feeding Management Using Multi-Mode Sensors and Smart Feeding Machine

“…In our previous work [24], with Snubnose Pompano as the target fish species, we proposed an approach to analyze the investment feasibility analysis of large submersible cage culture in Taiwan. The research findings show that large submersible cage culture is financially profitable when the number of operation units are larger than 8.…”

“…Although it offers the advantage of mitigating the risk of fish mortality and adverse environmental impacts, it is constrained by substantial capital investments and operational costs. In a prior study [24], we conducted an economic analysis of large submersible cage culture, focusing on snubnose pompano (Trachinotus anak) and cobia (Rachycentron canadum) as target fish species. The study demonstrated that large submersible cage culture can be financially viable with an increase in the number of operational units.…”

First identification, molecular characterization, and pathogenicity assessment ofLactococcus garvieaeisolated from cultured pompano in Taiwan

“…Aquaculture is gradually being extended to open‐cage marine waters to meet the increasing demands. However, achieving maximum production has proven difficult because of several challenges (physical, chemical, and biological) that contribute to decreased fish production, with diseases caused by infectious agents being the most detrimental worldwide (Gnanagobal & Santander, 2022; Lan et al, 2022; Pridgeon & Klesius, 2012). In humid subtropical regions (Dawadi et al, 2023) the Lactococcus genus of gram‐positive bacteria is most prominent (Kang et al, 2004).…”