Andfjord Salmon verifies water flow technology

Andfjord Salmon announced the verification of its laminar water flow technology after a period of testing, at its first pool in Andøya. The company has developed its sustainable aquaculture concept for the purposes of land-based Atlantic salmon farming.

Following weeks of testing, it increased the intensity of flow-through technology tests. The tests included the complete water inlet and outlet infrastructure, filling of the pool, activation of power adaptors, gradual increase of the laminar water flow and measurements of the water flow. Other results recorded analyses of the pool infrastructure and how it reacted to the laminar water flow.

'In practice, this confirms that we have been able to recreate wild salmon's natural habitat on land. In the wild, salmon swims in laminar water flows in the ocean, similar to what we now have in our pool at Andøya. Never have I been more certain that we will meet our ambition of building the world's most sustainable aquaculture facility of its kind,' said Martin Rasmussen the CEO of Andfjord Salmon in a press release from today.

Andfjord Salmon's flow-through technology with a laminar water flow facilitates a natural environment in which farmed salmon can thrive and enables the company to produce fish at a low energy cost of 1kWh per kilogram. 

A flow-through system with a laminar water flow reduces energy consumption and its associated costs by removing the need to lift, filter or heat the seawater, thanks to being sourced directly from the nearby Andfjorden. It also holds a perfect temperature.

'This is a major technological milestone for Andfjord Salmon and a really nice Christmas present to our shareholders, utilising our own technology. We were always confident in the technological capabilities, but humble to the fact demonstrating it in practice is what matters. As such, the successful verification of the laminar water flow helps to de-risk our business case substantially,' Martin Rasmussen explained.

Fine tuning the laminar water flow technology will happen over the coming months. It aims to release its first smolt in the last half of 2021. 

For more information on Andfjord Salmon click, HERE.

Image credit: Andfjord Salmon

Collaboration on UK RAS-based shrimp farm

Farm 491, an agricultural technology hub based in the Royal Agricultural University, has partnered with Land Ocean Farm, a Gloucestershire based start-up, in a project to create the largest land-based system for shrimp farming in the UK. 

Land Ocean Farm's duties in the project include 'building the technology and the network to produce seafood in a land-based and bio-secure environment in the UK,' Land Ocean Farm explained on Farm 491's website. Their joint project aims to produce healthy, nutritious and sustainable seafood at an affordable price for restaurant, retail and consumer markets.

With an awareness that existing traceability and transparency in the seafood supply chain is poor and requires improvement on gaining a better understanding of chemical, antibiotic and hormone use, Land Ocean Farm aims to combat this by developing bio-secure, land-based production facilities in the UK.

This will reduce environmental impact via reducing the carbon footprint and lessen pressures on natural water resources. Being produced in the UK, for the UK market, ensures that the carbon emissions produced from transporting shrimp containers, are drastically reduced. The land-based facility will be operated by green energy to provide heat and power, while water will be recycled.

Land Ocean Farm aims to build its first plant in 2022, which will mark the largest scale producer in the UK. Co-founder of Land Ocean Farm Rasel Mahmud, said of the project: 'Our success in aquaculture depends on others being successful with us, so we want to collaborate and create that success together.'

Referring to their collaboration with Farm 491, he added: 'Being part of Farm491 has created a spider-web of connections which opens other doors, and with anyone you meet in the network there is an instinctive element of trust and seal of approval which helps accelerate mutual benefit. This is so important, especially for young entrepreneurs who haven't yet built up that network.'

For more information on Land Ocean Farm click, HERE.

For more information on Farm 491 click, HERE.

Image credit: Adobe Stock

Aqualife's new semi-automated vaccination technology

With the assistance of a loan from Umi Debt Finance Scotland, vaccination company Aqualife has announced today its brand new piece of technology, the semi-automated fish vaccination unit Inoca, with another fully automated unit in development. Aqualife has succeeded in vaccinating more than 1.6 billion fish since its beginning in 1996, with the hopes to branch out into automated vaccination technology, and change the old, manual process.

In a press release dated today, Chief Executive Office Gordon Jeffrey said: 'We started thinking about automating manual vaccination way back in 2003, and at the time were awarded a government grant to look at the feasibility of building such a system.' It was not, Mr Jeffrey explained, feasible at the time. 'Now the technology has caught up and we commissioned the building of a proof-of-concept system called 'The Inocubot' – a fully automated vaccination system using cameras to determine where the fish is, so we can instruct a robot to inject it, while also determining the fish health, fins and gill colour, and storing the images for future use.'

He then detailed their current commercial prototype, with plans to roll it out from 2022.

Testing on the Inoca unit has been completed, boasting the ability to switch between different vaccination strategies and manage different species. Thanks to its automation, the Inoca unit requires less than half the operators required in a manual vaccination operation.

Phil Brown with Gordon Jeffrey

On working with Umi Debt Finance Scotland, Mr Jeffrey explained: 'We're hungry for funds. We're transitioning from a service-based company to a tech-led business, and that requires funding. And of course, there's been the impact of Covid.' Their relationship with UMi, 'were a pleasure from start to finish. I liked their personal touch, and the way they really wanted to know about the actual business, which is quite unusual – most funders just look at the figures.'

From UMi, Fund Director Tom Brock commented that Aqualife's achievements and aims were admirable: 'Gordon and his team took an idea of semi automation and in just 19 months developed a unit which will speed up vaccinations for a much wider range of fish, making the entire process quicker and more affordable.'

Speaking on the unit itself, Gordon said that the Inoca is 'simple, light and extremely quiet' compared with other units and had already received interest from Africa and Asia.

Gordon concluded with the hope that if automating vaccinations is feasible for fish, the same can be done for humans – having been awarded a feasibility study grant by Innovate UK to look into this.

For more information on Aqualife Services click, HERE.

For more information on UMi Debt Finance Scotland click, HERE.

Image credit: UMi Debt Finance Scotland

The Aquaculturists

---

SalmoTerra's partnership with Graintec for new RAS facility

Norwegian salmon producer SalmoTerra has recently partnered with aquaculture technology supplier, Graintec, in the construction of their first, land-based grow-out facility. The facility will be based in Øygarden, nearby to Bergen.

'In the beginning of 2022, the construction of the new facility will take off, and phase one is expected in production in first half of 2023. Phase one has the capacity to produce 2700 tons of Atlantic Salmon annually. After completion of phase 2 the total production capacity will reach 8000 tons annually and will therefore be one of the largest land-based grow-out facilities in Norway,' detailed Graintec in a press release published in November.

On the subject of the project, Managing Director of SalmoTerra, Harald Schreiner Fiksdal, explained: 'Our clear vision is to create optimal conditions for the well-being of the fish in our visionary RAS plant. We wanted a supplier to partner up with, a partner with shared values and visions. Graintec has a long project-history within large projects. They understood our expectations and supported us in creating peace of mind for our investors for this great project in Bergen."

Image caption, from left: Kai André Stæger-Holst, CFO, Harald Schreiner Fiksdal, CEO from SalmoTerra and Jens Jensen, Business Developer and Michael Mortensen, CEO from Graintec.

Echoing his sentiments, Michael Mortensen the CEO of Graintec said: 'We are looking forward to a long partnership as trusted advisor. SalmoTerra marks an important milestone for Graintec as this is our first fish farm project. Having supplied salmon feed plants and feeding solutions for more than two decades we have a long track-record in delivering complex projects to the salmon industry. We have invested heavily in building up RAS competences and have developed a unique RAS concept that will allow SalmoTerra to realize their vision of farming sustainable salmon of highest quality.'

This marks a first for both companies: for Graintec in supplying a RAS facility and SalmoTerra for the construction of its first land-based salmon farm.

For more information on Graintec click, HERE.

For more information on SalmoTerra click, HERE.

Image credit: Graintec

The Kingfish Company's planned US production facility in Maine

Priding itself on its sustainability and high fish welfare standards, The Kingfish Company recently announced its purchase of land for an upcoming land-based facility to further its aquaculture production. The Company is committed to environmentally friendly practices, such as running its facilities on green energy, with custom made heat exchangers. All the water used in these facilities is purified, filtered, and returned to the sea.

The Company currently produces the Dutch Yellowtail and is the largest Yellowtail producer in the EU. The facility is based in Jonesport, Maine, and once completed, will be Kingfish's first production facility in the U.S.

'The facility will serve as Kingfish's first production facility in the U.S. as the company looks to replicate its successful operation in Europe and establish significant local sustainable seafood production for U.S. retailers and food service,' said Kingfish Company in a press release, dated the 29th November, 2021.

Their purchase of land comes after two permits were approved by the State of Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) earlier in November. This allows Kingfish to begin pre-construction design and engineering.

'These announcements represent a major milestone in The Kingfish Company's execution of its expansion strategy, and its focus on technology driven local production of high value import dependent seafood in the EU and the US,' said Ohad Maiman, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Today, Kingfish Maine is one step closer to achieving fully operational status, and we are ready to build on our proven blueprint and scale our technology locally to service our network of distributors nationwide."

In recent months, Kingfish confirmed a nationwide retail partnership in the U.S. with Whole Foods to sell its Yellowtail products  across the country.

For more information about The Kingfish Company click, HERE.

Image credits: The Kingfish Company

RINA's approval of offshore fish-farming vessel

 

The ship classification society, RINA, has recently announced its approval of a new-concept offshore fish-farming vessel, Ocean Ark.

The vessel is developed by Ocean Arks Tech of Chile (OATECH) in accordance with RINA Rules and Marpol, Solas and IMO regulations. It delivers a new approach to fish farming and will dramatically improve fish health, crew comfort and the industry's image.

The ocean may present a solution to meet the nutritional needs of a growing world population. Deploying the Ocean Ark away from marine heatwaves, algae blooms and storms - all causing strain on aquaculture production - would produce higher quality protein and increase world fish production without increasing pressures on fish stocks and coastal habitats.

With its capacity of 4,000 tonnes of biomass, this technology allows for the low-density production of healthier, higher-quality fish at lower costs than offshore, land-based and coastal aquaculture systems currently available. The Ocean Ark can operate near Asian, US and EU consumer markets to reduce transport emissions.

RINA Marine Principal Engineer for North West Europe, Patrizio Di Francesco said: 'Sustainability is a core strategic pillar at RINA, but this is not just about reducing carbon emissions. A sustainable food production chain is also needed to supply an increasing global demand for nutrition. We believe aquaculture in the open sea is one solution that will help for the future.'

The fish-farming vessel is a self-propelled, AI-assisted, low emissions trimaran that is 170m long and 64m wide. With its artificial intelligence and self-cleaning fish cages made of copper, the vessel ensures fish health and welfare and are high.

'This is an unusual vessel. Its AiP presents a milestone for both the fish farming industry and for the classification of ships with an unconventional design. It is an innovative approach to the sustainable harvesting of fish to help ensure food security and sovereignty and one which may revolutionise fish farming for the future,' Di Francesco concluded.

For more information about RINA click, HERE.

Image credit: RINA

Consortium of companies to tackle digital transformation of fish farms

An international consortium has begun a pioneering €1.3 million (£1.11 million) pilot project, 'Aquaculture Insights' in Badcall, Scotland, that will accelerate the aquaculture sector's digital transformation and support the drive towards enhanced sustainability, productivity, and operational efficiency on fish farms.

Led by Japan's Uhuru United, the consortium includes Amsterdam-listed Signify; Norway's Optoscale AS; the Scotland-based Sustainable Aquaculture Innovation Centre (SAIC); salmon producer Loch Duart Ltd.; and SB Telecom Europe Ltd. With their combined efforts, the group is creating an 'open data' software platform that will provide a single point for fish farmers to interact with and understand the data produced by the variety of technologies being used on their sites.

Over the last 20 years, there has been significant growth in the number and diversity of technology used in aquaculture – ranging from fish health diagnostic tools to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). However, the vast majority tend to work in isolation, which limits the value of data that can be taken and increases the amount of time required to monitor operations.

The pilot project will tackle this challenge by creating a single software package combining multiple data sources, offering insights that cannot be provided by existing systems. The initiative will also enhance the visualisation and transfer of data from connected devices and systems, beginning with Signify's underwater LED lighting system and Optoscale's AI-enabled biomass camera.

Aquaculture Insights is receiving funding from the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), which is part of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.

Yosuke Kurihara, Project Director of Uhuru United Ltd., said: 'We are delighted to be leading the consortium on this important and ground-breaking project. We first established operations in the UK not just because it is a global centre for technological development but also because of its leading credentials in the field of sustainability. As such, this project is a perfect fit, using cutting-edge IoT technologies to best understand how we can maximise the efficiency of food production for a more sustainable future.'

Heather Jones, CEO of SAIC, said: 'Better access to insightful data could be transformative for aquaculture, helping the sector to be more efficient and sustainable, while also helping fish farmers to develop new ways of working. Aquaculture Insights could have significant potential for aquaculture, supporting its sustainable growth ambitions, which need to be underpinned by technological innovation and excellence. We were delighted to help secure Loch Duart as the farming partner for real-world trials of this innovative technology.'

Sven Kolsto, CEO of Optoscale AS, added: 'Joining this project is very interesting to us – we get the chance to work alongside excellent partners and we get to showcase our unique product used in combination with other innovative solutions. We look forward to learning what value we are able to provide to the aquaculture sector, together with our partners in the consortium.'

Find out more about the project, HERE.

Image credit: Aquaculture Consortium