Design of oyster grow-out culture container for Malaysia aquaculture small-scale industry

• Main Author: Arifin, Arzul
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2024
• Online Access: http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/28315/1/Design%20of%20oyster%20grow-out%20culture%20container%20for%20Malaysia%20aquaculture%20small-scale%20industry.pdf; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/28315/2/Design%20of%20oyster%20grow-out%20culture%20container%20for%20Malaysia%20aquaculture%20small-scale%20industry.pdf; http://eprints.utem.edu.my/id/eprint/28315/; https://plh.utem.edu.my/cgi-bin/koha/opac-detail.pl?biblionumber=124231
• Institution: Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka

The aquaculture industry plays a significant role in the Malaysian economy. The Malaysian Fisheries Department reported a total aquaculture production of 573,600 metric tonnes in 2022. Although fish aquaculture has experienced stable growth, oyster aquaculture, a relatively new endeavour in Malaysia since the 1980s, faces several challenges hindering its rapid development. These challenges include limited seed sources, unproductive production, and slow market growth. This study focuses on addressing these challenges through the development of a new containers for the oyster farming grow-out phase. The research scope emphasises the design and development of new containers tailored to enhance productivity and address specific challenges encountered in oyster farming. Key objectives include protection from predators such as crabs and fish, flexibility in various farming methods, and ergonomic considerations compared to existing basket. Exercising a design and development process, this study systematically evaluates various design options to identify the most practical and effective combinations of functions. The newly designed oyster containers incorporate innovative features, including perforated walls with open-close functionality to facilitate operations while preventing predator entry. The two-tier design optimises vertical farming space and utilises water depth efficiently. The new oyster container can hold an optimal number of oysters, estimated to be between 52 to 66 pieces of marketable size. Ergonomic factors integrated into the design process limit the total weight of the new oyster containers to 10kg, as indicated by the results of the NIOSH lifting equation analysis and a Rapid Upper Limb Assessment (RULA) score of 2 for body posture during fieldwork. This comprehensive approach to container design not only addresses existing challenges but also promotes sustainability and advancement in the oyster aquaculture industry. In summary, this study presents an innovative oyster container design, offering practical solutions to enhance productivity, efficiency and safety in oyster farming operations in Malaysia. These findings contribute to the advancement of aquaculture practices, demonstrating the potential for innovation to drive sustainable growth and development in the aquaculture sector.