Method and apparatus for farming softshell aquatic crustaceans
AssigneeLouisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College
InventorsRonald F. Malone, Dudley D. Culley
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Abstract
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the automatic farming f softshell aquatic crustaceans, e.g., crabs and crayfish. The method and apparatus utilize the inability of molted crustaceans to achieve self-mobility in the presence of a fluid flow of a certain velocity.
Claims18
An apparatus which provides an aquatic environment for a population of aquatic molted, premolt and intermolt curstaceans and which harvests said aquatic molted crustaceans therefrom, said apparatus comprising:
- (a) a tank for containing said aquatic environment;
- (b) a channel in said tank, said channel having a coarse bed;
- and
- (c) a flow control means for maintaining, in said channel, a flow of liquid which is of sufficient velocity to cause said molted crustaceans to loss traction on said coarse bed and to be transported along said channel but which said velocity of said flow of liquid is insufficient to cause loss of traction on said coarse bed by at least a portion of said premolt and intermolt crustaceans.
A method for separating aquatic molted crustaceans from premolt and intermolt crustaceans, which process comprises:
- (a) raising said crustaceans, for a period of time approximate to the molt cycle of said crustaceans, in a tank having a channel supportive of a liquid flow and having a coarse channel bed;
- (b) producing a liquid flow in said channel of a velocity sufficient to cause said molted crustaceans to lose tracation on said coarse channel bed and to be transported along said channel to a discharge port but which said velocity of said liquid flow is insufficient to cause loss of traction on said coarse bed by at least a portion of said premolt and intermolt crustaceans;
- (c) and removing, from said tank through said discharge port at least a portion of said liquid flow and at least a portion of said molted crustaceans transported to said discharge port.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.