Reduced space requirements for salmon farms

Traditional cages is counted to give the lowest investment- and operating costs at optimal locations - with good fish quality and small or no negative impact on the environment. The problem is that there is a lack of optimal localities. On good locations with good exchange of water there often are a bit rough conditions with a lot of waves, while many locations that are more sheltered, have too little exchange of water, it is too shallow, or too close to houses, cabins etc. The best locations has large farms, while the smallest are more or less unused. There are also locations in use that would prefer to move to better locations if it was possible.

 

The solution is to produce salmon up to 1 kilo in closed cages - production of post smolt. If salmon should grow in closed facilities up to 1 kilo it needs that 17 % of the cages are closed. If these 17 % uses locations that today are not in use, we actually in 2030 would be able to produce 3 million tons in the sea at the same area as today. The reason for that is that by farming fish in open net pens from 1 kilo instead of from100 grams until harvesting size, it is possible to do it in less than one year. That means that we would manage to run one generation per year in one location. Comparing with today, every location runs one generation in two years. Such a solution therefore means very much for the industry.

Even if the good locations becomes larger and the cages is developed more robust, access to optimal locations would be limited and become harder and harder to get. If this new farming solution can produce profitably on these abandoned localities, we have  acquired enough area to ensure a large part of expected future growth.

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Improved profitability

In addition to reduced need of area, the production also will be doubled in existing net cages. Which means lower production costs, also for salmon farmed in open net pens. The most important argument for producing in closed facilities up to 1 kilo is to reduce the number of delousings. Reduced delousings also provide cost savings. It is therefore possible for a closed solution, with low investment costs and low operation costs, to be the preferred solution in many sites. FishGLOBE intend to fill this role.