Patent ID: 6932025

Claim:
A scalable fish rearing raceway system comprising: one or more fish containment structures having two or more parallel linear fish channels with semi-circular end sections, and having a walled off centrally located inner portion for housing water propulsion means, water treatment means and dead and dying fish removal means, whereby said walled off centrally located inner portion is in fluid communication with said one or more fish containment structures; fish harvesting/grading means further comprising a fish harvesting/grading channel in fluid communication with said one or more fish containment structures, whereby fish within said one or more fish containment structures are readily sized, and subsequently separated out for either retention in said fish containment structure for further growth or transferral to said fish harvesting/grading channel for harvesting from said fish containment structure; and one or more passive dead and dying fish removal means, whereby floating dead or submerged dead or dying fish are continuously removed from said fish containment structure passively by employing water current only, whereby said fish removal means further comprises; (a) a circular hydrocone structure in fluid communication with the water within said one or more fish containment structures, having a conical bottom with walls sloping down to an opening outlet to allow sinking debris and particulate matter to be removed from said circular structure; (b) a submerged vertical screen panel adjustably extending out from said circular hydrocone structure forming an entrance to direct fish into said dead and dying fish removal apparatus; and (c) a screened ramp which starts at the floor of the fish rearing tank or raceway and uniformly climbs to the water surface along a 90 degree arc of said circular hydrocone structure wall to a flat portion located at the top of said screened ramp; whereby the water flow within said one or more fish containment structures is used to passively deposit dead and dying, both floating and submerged fish into the hydrocone structure, up the screened ramp and onto said flat portion at the water surface, where the dead and dying fish are held for easy mechanical removal from the fish rearing system.