I have a small amount of experience (2 catfishponds) not much though. Here is what I remember
1. Get good clay bottom to hold water. at least 2'
2. slope pond so that you can drain it. i try to put 3' water at one end and 5.5-6' on the deep end.
3. put enough freeboard on it to hold the 25 year rain +1 foot.
4. make sure the dam is cored with clay
5. keep offsite water from entering pond
I am currently working on an EIS submission for an intensive prawn aquaculture project, and make the following comment:
The nuts & bolt engineering is reasonably standard stuff, sizing of pumps & pipes is important as the volumes can be considerable;
The water quality side is crucial, and requires serious consideration with regard nitates etc removal, nutrient removal, sludge treatment etc;
The most serious questions posed by authorities are likely to do with discharge during unusual rain events, concerning concentration of nutrients as well as potential for disease release on a regular basis.
A search on Aquaculture EIS or similar provides a lot previous work, saves reinventing the wheel or forgetting something obscure and/or crucial.
cheers