Introduction

Bait Masters is a company that produces alternative bait, sells fishing equipment and buys/sells lobsters during the spring and fall fishing seasons. The focus of this project will regard expanding their current lobster holding tank. Currently, they have a 10,400 lb traditional lobster holding tank at the facility, with the need to expand the capacity for the spring. The partners are looking for an additional tank to hold 20,800 lbs and to reduce physical labour, energy usage and water waste. Specifically with an innovative rainfall solution to allow them to store the lobsters on pallets to be loaded/unloaded using a pallet jack. 

Project Scope

Bait Masters aims to expand their lobster holding capacities for the 2024 spring lobster fishing season. The project entails designing a 20,800 lb lobster holding tank with a rainfall system to reduce manual labour during loading/unloading. The tank will require water filtration, air pumps, chilling, and water pumps to pull the water from the wharf to the tanks. The project’s primary focus will be designing a rainfall storage tank with water recirculation and managing the water treatment systems. The partner will receive completed drawings of the tank design and mechanical systems required to provide the lobsters with an ideal storage environment. 

Problem Statement

Bait Masters aims to expand their lobster storage tank to hold 20,800 lbs in Nine Mile Creek, PEI. Due to the physical labour required to load and unload the current traditional tank and high operational costs. They are looking for an innovative, sustainable solution to reduce the amount of lifting, energy usage, water waste and supply the lobsters with sufficient conditions to store them for less than 48 hours.