FACILITIES - INFRAESTRUCTURE

The Oceanographic Centre of the Canary Islands has a Culture Unit exclusively dedicated to the research in aquaculture. The Culture Unit is fully equipped, including hatchery, nursery, on-growing area and storing tanks, allowing the development of studies on a wide range of fields related to the culture techniques of marine fish and cephalopods. Since its creation in 1980, the facilities have been expanded and renovated several times (1983, 1986, 1995, 2008) to suit the progress and needs of research.
 

8000 m2 total area, including two buildings (900 and 1000 m2) and several outdoor facilities. Although the infrastructure is very versatile, it can be divided in the following main areas:

• 3 areas for reproduction with tanks of different types including: 8 m3 rectangular concrete tanks (Building 1), 10 m3 fiber square tanks (Building 2) and 500 m3 race-way concrete tanks (outdoor) for large-sized species.
• Egg incubation room with 15 to 100 l fiber containers.
• 2 areas for larval rearing (one on each building) with 100 to 3000 l. fiber tanks.
• Mesocosm unit (large larval rearing tanks and greenhouse for plankton culture).
• 2 areas for nursery and nutritional/physiological studies with 1000 to 4000 l. fiber tanks.
• Areas for grow-out and fish stock maintenance which includes large capacity outdoor tanks (50 to 250 m3).
• Areas for live food production, consisting of:
  • 1 phytoplankton culture room (isothermal conditions)
  • 2 rotifer culture rooms (one with isothermal conditions)
  • 1 Artemia incubation room.
• Auxiliary rooms
  • Food storage and preparation
  • Water filtration
  • Cleaning and disinfection
• Specific technical equipment for on-land culture units
  • Well for seawater uptake, water pumps, water distribution network and drainage channels
  • Air Compressors and air distribution system
  • Generators
  • Workshop and warehouse

LABORATORIES

• Microscopy and stereoscopy equipped for photography, camera and image analysis
• Physico-chemical analysis of water with electronic devices
• Physiology and Genetics laboratory: spectrophotometer, multi-mode microplate reader, PCR, electrophoresis and gel documentation system, laminar flow cabin
• Reproduction laboratory: biopsia, hormonal treatments, tagging systems PIT
• General laboratory equipment: analytical balances, centrifuges, ultra-freezer, ice machine, muffles, stoves, autoclave, thermostatic bath, fluorometer, lab water purification system, pHmeter, heating magnetic stirrer, vortex, microwave, computer equipment, etc.

UNIVERSITY OF LA LAGUNA (ULL)

LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

• Gas Chromatograph - Mass spectrometer
• Densitometer
• HPLC
• Spectrophotometers
• Khjeldahl
• Culture unit with laminar flow cabin and CO2 incubator
• Muffles, stoves, microwave
• Ultra-freezer (-80ºC), freezers (-20ºC) and ice machine
• Lab water purification system
• Centrifuges
• Analytical balances
• pHmeter
• Air compressor
• Heating magnetic stirrer, vortex, mechanical homogenizer, nitrogen evaporation system, vacuum pumps, sonicator, rotary cacuum evaporator, thermostatic bath, thermoblock
• Microscopy and stereoscopy
• Small aquarium including several 1m3 fiber tanks with closed recirculating water system, to carry out trials with a limited number of fish