Application · 6 min
Fish farm precast buildings and floating platforms
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Short answer: An aquaculture facility links onshore buildings (feed store, processing and cold storage hall, office) with a floating work platform and jetty in a single workflow. Settle the water side first: depth, water level, waves, moorings and jetty position. Then lay out the land side from the jetty head. The onshore buildings can be framed with precast columns, prestressed roof beams and insulated sandwich façade panels.
Which structures make up the facility?
A cage-based aquaculture investment consists of two groups of structures. On the water there is a floating work platform serving the cages and a jetty for boat berthing and material transfer; the platform carries feed stock, a generator and lifting equipment. On land there is a feed store, a hall where fish are processed and kept chilled, and an office and welfare building with offices, changing rooms and a canteen.
They are best planned as stops on a single flow. Feed moves from the store to the jetty, then by boat to the platform and the cages; the harvest travels the other way, from the jetty to the processing hall, into cold storage and onto a truck. Cage nets and frames are a separate equipment package; this article focuses on the land and water structures that carry the flow.
Why does planning start on the water?
The land layout is flexible; the jetty position is not. Where a jetty can go depends on water depth, bed conditions, wave and wind direction and, on a reservoir, the range of water levels. The first step is therefore site selection and permits. In Turkey the aquaculture licence is subject to Law No. 1380, the Fisheries Law, and structures on the shore and on the water are subject to Law No. 3621, the Coastal Law, each with its secondary legislation.
The second step is water-side data: bathymetry, bed investigation, lowest and highest water level, wave and wind data. These fix the platform position, mooring layout and jetty head. In the third step the land layout is drawn back from the jetty head, placing the loading area, buildings and site road. The last step is one production and delivery programme for building elements and floating modules together.
Interfaces: jetty head, loading area and services
Land and water structures meet at the jetty head. A floating jetty connects to a fixed shore abutment through a gangway. On a reservoir the shoreline itself retreats as the water drops, so the abutment and loading area are positioned to work at the lowest level as well. Precast infrastructure elements such as retaining walls, U-channels and culverts come into play here for the shore slope and yard drainage.
If forklift and pallet traffic from the loading area continues onto the jetty, the gangway and jetty deck are designed for that load. Power and water lines can run through the service duct inside the floating jetty module, with a flexible connection on the gangway to follow level changes. Wastewater and drainage from the processing hall are designed separately within the relevant permit procedures.
How are the onshore buildings framed in precast?
A feed store needs a dry, ventilated, column-free volume suited to forklift traffic; precast columns and prestressed roof beams provide the span, and prestressed purlins carry the roof covering. The processing and cold storage hall needs hygienic, washable surfaces and insulation; BETTON PREFABRİK's architectural concrete façade panels are produced with an insulated sandwich option. Insulation thickness and vapour barrier details for chilled rooms are set together with the refrigeration design.
If the office and welfare building has more than one storey, its floors can be spanned with hollowcore slabs. The structural system of every building is designed to TBDY 2018, the Turkish Building Earthquake Code. Where moisture and feed-related chemical attack are expected, concrete strength and exposure classes are selected in the project; on cold-climate sites, snow load and freeze-thaw action are also taken into account.
On the water: floating work platform and jetty
The floating work platform is a reinforced concrete deck close to the cages that carries feed stock, a generator and lifting equipment. Heavy equipment directly affects draft, freeboard and heel under one-sided loading, so equipment layout and weights must be fixed early in design. Position is held by multi-point chain and concrete block moorings, with chain length and pretension calculated for depth and water level range.
The setting changes the design. In coastal bays, constant contact with seawater means hull concrete is specified to the XS exposure classes of TS EN 206, the European concrete standard. Reservoirs hold fresh water; in colder regions, level change, ice and freeze-thaw govern instead. Jetty modules are planned together with fenders and mooring hardware for boat berthing.
Transport and production programme
BETTON PREFABRİK's precast elements are produced at the factory in Birecik, Şanlıurfa; the Erzurum OSB factory is being set up. The production and delivery programmes for the building elements and the floating modules are prepared together, with interfaces such as the jetty abutment and service crossings resolved in the same drawing set.
Transport planning should start early. For long roof beams and heavy pontoon modules, bridges, tight bends and gradients along the route are checked in advance; the last stretch to a reservoir site may run on rural roads. The launching point, crane capacity and temporary storage area are marked on the site plan. Where winters are harsh, road haulage and over-water installation are scheduled around the season.
Frequently asked questions
- What permits does a fish farm need in Turkey?
- The aquaculture licence is subject to Law No. 1380, the Fisheries Law, and its secondary legislation, while jetties, platforms and other structures on the shore or on the water are subject to Law No. 3621, the Coastal Law. Permitting for the onshore buildings is planned separately. Applications should start as soon as the site is selected.
- Can a fish processing and cold storage building be precast?
- Yes. A wide-span processing and cold storage hall can be framed with precast columns and prestressed roof beams and clad with architectural concrete panels in an insulated sandwich version. Insulation thickness and vapour barrier details for the chilled rooms follow the refrigeration design, and the structure is designed to TBDY 2018.
- How is a floating platform moored on a reservoir?
- A floating concrete platform is usually held by multi-point chain and concrete block moorings. On a reservoir, water level change feeds directly into chain length and pretension: chains tighten as the level rises and slacken as it falls. Moorings cannot be designed until depth, bed conditions and the lowest and highest levels are measured.
- Why is the site layout planned from the jetty?
- The jetty position is constrained by depth, bed conditions, wave direction and water level range, while buildings on land can be placed more freely. To keep feed and harvest flows short and one-directional, the loading area sits at the jetty head, the processing hall beside the loading area and cold storage near the truck exit.
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