Norwegian fish farmer submits planning bid for 100,000-tonne on-land farm
Norwegian fish farmer Alsaker Fjordbruk AS has applied for permission to build a land-based facility with the capacity to produce 100,000 tonnes of salmon.
The plant, at Nedrevåge in Tysnes municipality in Vestland, will be operated using seawater and desalinated seawater, and used for growing both big smolts of up to 2.7 kg for open pens and for producing harvest size fish.
The facility will collect water from a depth of 80 metres (see map below) and water will be discharged at a depth of 190 metres, much further from shore.
New jobs
“The establishment of a land-based fish farm will both strengthen the local business base and provide more new jobs locally,” said Alsaker Fjordbruk in its application. “The facility will also mean a reduced environmental impact for any marine facilities that are delivered to, as using large hatchery fish will reduce the residence time of the fish in open cages at sea.”
If the plan is approved it would provide great opportunities for the company, which could have a huge increase in its production of salmon both on land and in the sea, where using such large post-smolts would allow it to make more efficient use of its marine sites.
Vestland County Municipality writes in its response to Alsaker Fjordbruk that the environmental documentation in the application provides a good enough basis for assessing whether the measure has a significant effect on the environment and society, and it has sent the application to Tysnes Municipality for comment and public inspection.
