A new company is hoping to build four closed-containment salmon farms on the coast to produce 8,000 tonnes annually.
Dean Trethewey with Akvafuture says the company wants to build a cluster of four farms similar to several already operating in northern Norway.
He says the design keeps fish healthy by preventing natural sea lice parasites and plankton blooms from entering the pens.
By controlling and preventing sea lice, we can just focus on maintaining good water quality and growth,” he says. “So far in the ten years [it’s been operating in Norway] we have not seen a single sea louse on any of our salmon, so that’s really one of the big advantages of using this closed-barrier system.”
The pens use a solid barrier to prevent all sea lice and plankton from entering the cages. Oxygen is added to the pens and water is circulated from deep below. Fish and feed waste is collected, dewatered and recycled.
Trethewey says the company is currently working with First Nations on the coast to develop relationships and choose sites for the proposed farms. The farms would raise Atlantic salmon.
Currently the company’s fish are marketed worldwide under the “Ecosalmon” trademark.
